5280 Magazine January 2024

MORE THAN 500 OF THE BEST ATTORNEYS IN THE MILE HIGH CITY PAGE 52

THE CON MAN WHO DECEIVED THE FRONT RANGE TECH COMMUNITY

BY CHRIS WALKER

WILL A NEW COLORADO-BORN APP PREVENT AVALANCHE DEATHS? PAGE 32

THE DENVER MAGAZINE

STAYCATIONS! 6 New Denver Hotels For Every Kind Of Weekend Getaway PAGE 38

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Contents JA N UA RY 2 0 2 4

38

Stay & Play

You don’t have to fight I-70 traffic or schlep your stuff through DIA to get away, thanks to these six new Denver hotels for every kind of staycationer.

EDITED BY JESSICA LARUSSO

46

The Mysterious Mr. Clark

After a suspected con man disappeared from Colorado and left tens of thousands of dollars unaccounted for, his employees, contractors, and investors are still wondering who Aaron Clark really was—and where he is today.

BY CHRIS WALKER

52

Denver’s Top Lawyers

More than 500 of the very best attorneys in the Mile High City—and beyond.

Thompson Denver’s cozy LoDo accommodations

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5280 / J A N UA R Y 2024

Courtesy of Julie Soefer

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Contents JA N UA RY 2 0 2 4

28

22

32

F R O M T H E E D I TO R

12 The emotional fallout from

getting scammed is very real.

CO M PA S S 15 PHILANTHROPY

A Denver nonprofit is ensuring Holocaust survivors aren’t forgotten.

16 PERSONAL FINANCE

Are you prepared for a middling economy?

18 HOME

Meet local construction consultant and HGTV star Rico León.

42 E AT & D R I N K 27 WHAT’S HOT

Three new wellness projects for the new year.

The 10-month-old Porchetta House brings inventive adaptations of its namesake pork sandwiches to City Park West.

22 MARIJUANA

28 REVIEW

20 HEALTH

The first Coloradan to buy legal recreational weed isn’t high on the state of the cannabis industry.

24 INTERSECTIONS

Our guide to exploring Globeville and Elyria-Swansea.

Casa Bonita’s Dana Rodriguez– designed menu delivers a much improved yet still mediocre dinner with a spectacular show. Plus: Three more Lakewood restaurants worth a visit.

78 DINING GUIDE

CO LU M N

AC T L I K E A LO C A L

32 BUSINESS

96 THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO: JUDGING CATTLE

AspectAvy, a new app from a Colorado company, says it can help keep skiers and boarders safer in the backcountry. Some worry it could lead them into danger.

Tips for spotting prizeworthy steer at this month’s National Western Stock Show.

BY NICHOLAS HUNT

O N T H E C OV E R Photograph by Sarah Banks Thompson Denver

5280 (ISSN 10826815) is published monthly by 5280 Publishing, Inc., 1675 Larimer St., Suite 675, Denver, CO 80202. Subscriptions are $19.95 for one year (12 issues). Back issues are available for $6.99 plus tax and shipping by visiting shop.5280.com. Periodical postage paid at Denver, CO, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS (see DMM 707.4.12.5). NONPOSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to 5280 Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement No. #40065056 Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. 5280® is a federally registered trademark owned by 5280 Publishing, Inc. 5280 also owns trademark registrations for TOP OF THE TOWN, DENVER’S TOP DOCTORS, DENVER MAGAZINE, and COUTURE COLORADO. © 2024 5280 Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cover: Styling by Lana Shores. This page, clockwise from top left: Sarah Banks; Courtesy of HGTV; Courtesy of AspectAvy; María Soledad Kubat/Stocksy

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100+ OF DENVER’S FINEST ATTORNEYS

7 5 O F D E N V E R ’ S F I N E S T AT TO R N E Y S

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With 75 lawyers serving the community in 90+ practice areas, LawBank is the easiest place for attorneys to refer clients, find co-counsel, and contract with an expert in a niche area.

Jay Kamlet: Kamlet LLP, Real Estate Law Daniel Reilly: Reilly Pozner LLP, Commercial Litigation; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation – Banking and Finance; Litigation – Bankruptcy; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs Larry Pozner: Reilly Pozner LLP, Criminal Defense: White-Collar; Criminal Defense: General Practice; Bet-the-Company Litigation Mary Kelly: Reilly Pozner LLP, Family Law; Family Law Mediation Laura Hazen: H&K Law, Litigation – Labor and Employment; Employment Law – Management Jim Albright: J D Albright Law, Energy Law Joseph Zonies: Zonies Law LLC, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs Damian Arguello: Colorado Insurance Law Center, Insurance Law; Litigation – Insurance Jim Pinto: Red Rocks Law, Patent Law Anthony Giacomini: Giacomini Law, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs C. Jean Stewart: Jean Stewart, LLC, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates

JAY KAMLET

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RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE

Leaders in Law.

EDITOR

Lindsey B. King ART DIRECTOR

David McKenna DIGITAL DIRECTOR

Maren Horjus

ED I TO RI A L DEPUT Y EDITOR

Jessica LaRusso

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Robert Sanchez

FEATURES EDITOR

Spencer Campbell HOME EDITOR

Michelle Johnson SENIOR EDITOR

Nicholas Hunt

FO OD EDITOR

Patricia Kaowthumrong

SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jessica Giles

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Chris Walker

ASSISTANT EDITOR

NATE FORD PARTNER

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D ESI GN & P HOTO G R A PH Y PHOTO EDITOR

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selected for 5280’s Top Lawyer recognition.

DEPUT Y ART DIRECTOR

For 26 years, Perkins Coie has served as a trusted advisor to clients throughout the Rocky Mountain region and beyond, with a focus on service excellence. We are privileged to assist the businesses and organizations that make our community a great place to live and work.

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5280 / JANUARY 2024

The story you’ll keep retelling.

VisitSantaFe.com

FROM THE EDITOR

Trust Issues

^ Danielle Shoots, who now runs a venture capital firm, tried to warn people about Aaron Clark.

ancient Yelp reviews, and used Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to make clear Clark’s murky past. “Yes, it took some digging,” Walker says, “but if someone had really wanted to know who Aaron Clark was—say, an investor who was going to fund a startup—that person could have found out that Clark had a seedy past. If someone had done the research, it might’ve prevented a lot of heartache.”

Instead, Clark left a trail of hurt and angry people, some of whom are owed

money and all of whom want answers.

Walker may not be able to give them all of the explanations they desire— and deserve—but he has thoroughly unriddled the riddle of Aaron Clark.

LINDSEY B. KING

For more than 30 years, Portugal-based artist André Carrilho has been creating illustrations for outlets such as the New Yorker and Vanity Fair. His work, which often depicts humans with exaggerated facial features, has won more than 100 awards, and Carrilho is set to publish a children’s picture book featuring his art next year. When he gets an assignment, Carrilho often starts by writing down initial thoughts in his phone and then goes for a jog. “Usually after five kilometers, I have plenty of ideas,” he says. Drawn to Carrilho’s high-energy style and fluid lines, 5280 art director Dave McKenna enlisted the illustrator to create the opening art for “The Mysterious Mr. Clark” (page 46). After reading the story for the first time, Carrilho compared scammer Aaron Clark’s deception methods to those of Frank Abagnale Jr., the fraudster who inspired Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can. “It’s not often that I read something that really grabs my attention, a story so unbelievable and the product of real, hardcore reporting,” he says. “That’s becoming rare.”

ANDRÉ CARRILHO

Illustrator

12

5280 / JANUARY 2024

Editor lindsey@5280.com

From top: James Stukenberg; Arthur Mount

It’s been more than five years, but I can still remember feeling the hot flash that coursed through my body the moment I realized I had barely escaped being scammed out of $1,000. The ruse had been so persuasive, so meticulously crafted, so professional—yet more than a sense of relief, I felt embarrassed. I was also very, very angry.

It was that unpleasant experience, and a few others before and after it, that made me understand, even just a little bit, how Danielle Shoots, Regan Byrd, Brenda Herrera Moreno, and so many other Coloradans likely felt when they began to comprehend the level of deception they say they encountered at the hands of a person they thought they could trust—a man who went by the name Aaron Clark.

In this month’s “The Mysterious Mr. Clark” (page 46), associate editor Chris Walker not only details the alleged financial crimes Clark committed as the CEO of a Denver startup called Equity Solutions, but also delivers answers to the questions so many Centennial Staters have been asking since Clark vanished in late 2022: Who was Aaron Clark, and where did he come from?

It took Walker the better part of a year, but he tracked down court records, found old email addresses, reached out to victims from other states and countries, waded through

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P H I L A N T H R O PY

Film Study

When the Illinois Holocaust Museum asked John Pregulman if he’d photograph a group of Holocaust survivors, the former fashion and dance photographer turned investment banker discovered that his subjects’ biggest fear was being forgotten. So John set out to document as many survivors as he could, a mission that would lead to an even bigger calling after John photographed a woman in Orlando, Florida, with the help of his now wife, Amy Pregulman. “Like most grandmothers, she wanted to feed me after I took her picture,” John says, “but when she opened her fridge, there was nothing in it.” Research revealed that around a third of Holocaust survivors in the United States live in poverty (or nearly so), inspiring the couple to found Kavod in 2015. Last year, the Denver-based nonprofit recorded an $8 million operating budget, every cent of which went toward helping survivors with needs such as groceries, medical bills, and emergency home repairs. At the same time, John continues to photograph survivors. Once they’re all gone, Georgia’s Kennesaw State University will archive the collection to ensure that the thousands of people John has memorialized are never forgotten. —NICHOLAS HUNT John and Amy Pregulman in front of John’s portraits of Holocaust survivors

PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL J. BRENNER

J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

15

PERSONAL FINANCE

› Perfect Your Cooking Skills Although Denver’s inflation was higher than the national average this past September (5.4 percent to 3.7 percent, respectively), Bill Craighead, program director of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ Economic Forum, expects prices to level off in 2024. One exception might be restaurants, which still face staff shortages and may have to pay higher wages to attract workers. › Embrace Boring Craighead says sky-high interest rates mean many financial institutions are offering attractive returns on one of the safest investments on the market: highyield savings accounts. That includes Colorado Federal Savings Bank’s offering. The Greenwood Village–based, online-only outfit might not have any ATMs, but it does have an APY hovering around 4.5 percent, one of the highest in the country.

Falling Flat

Are you prepared for a middling economy?

From 2019 to 2020, Colorado’s GDP remained static at $397 billion, leading many financial prognosticators to foresee a recession. They were wrong. Over the next two years, the Centennial State’s economy leapfrogged the pandemic, high inflation, and a war in Ukraine on its way to 24 percent growth. Now, in 2024, economists are predicting that the country will avoid a recession but finally experience a slowdown.

So we spoke with local experts to find tips for weathering an idling economy—just in case the pundits are right this time. ­—SPENCER CAMPBELL 16

5280 / JANUARY 2024

› Quit Quitting Always partial to the “play hard” part of the equation, Denverites are more likely than average to take their jobs and shove them. If you plan to do the same in 2024, however, you might want to wait until you’ve landed a new gig. Jen Weinberger of Goldstone Partners, a Denver staffing agency, says the local job market is tightening as startup growth levels off. So brush up on your small talk for networking events and update your resumé. Going with friends will make the former less painful, while Goldstone offers free CV consultations to make you more compelling to hiring managers.

Ilija Erceg/Getty Images

› Be Patient (If You Can) Mortgage interest rates reached 7.95 percent this past November, making it too costly for many to buy a home. The silver lining? Less demand means better deals than in a hot market. Vivek Sah, the director of the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver, recently snapped up a four-bedroom for slightly less than the listed price.

Although his 6.25 percent interest rate is high, he’s sure the number will fall eventually. “If I can just carry it for a year, two years,” Sah says, “I’ll be able to refinance at four or 4.5 percent.”

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Natural Wonders In the Black Hills and Badlands, the curiousminded have been drawn in by significant sites dotting the highways for years. Several museums, and well-loved attractions house not only the fossilized bones of megafauna and preserved nodules of geologic interest, but also the ongoing research and protection efforts of these non-renewable resources.

The first step in connecting to the past is education, and places like The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs make it easy to learn about prehistory in an immersive way.

The Mammoth Site is a bonebed so large that there is a permanent structure built around the active dig site as shelter, making it an incredible opportunity to get up close while paleontologists continue to brush and chisel away at prehistoric debris. So far, scientists have tallied the remains of three woolly and fifty-eight North American Columbian mammoths among other iceage fauna such as the camel and the llama.

The Mammoth Site is celebrating its 50th anniversary, which may seem like a long time to us, but it’s a blink of an eye compared to the ages of the remains inside this 26,000-year-old sinkhole.

Another staple, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in Hill City, has been providing guests the opportunity to walk among articulated species for over half a century.

The Institute is one of the best spots to see fossilized bones of a T. rex, and when standing

Museum of Geology, Photo by Visit Rapid City

before it, an appreciation for size and magnificence comes easily.

Further up the road in Rapid City at places like the Museum of Geology at the South Dakota Mines campus, professionals and students are often working on fossilized remains in an accessible manner so that visitors may ask questions about the research and preservation process.

Badlands National Par k

Also working on fossils in front of the public are Badlands National Park professionals in their fossil lab. The Badlands were once a vibrant sea floor, so it’s not uncommon to find fossils from the eroding buttes today. The park provides handouts detailing what to do if a fossil is found so to keep it in place, or, “in situ,” as paleontologists or archaeologists might say.

Traveling through the Black Hills and Badlands is like traveling through time, and when you travel through time, the connection between past and present comes to life. So next time you are heading north to check out the natural wonders of South Dakota, don’t forget to count these marvels in.

The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs

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HOME

Honest Work

For Denver construction consultant and HGTV star Rico León, communication is key to a successful renovation.

RENOVATION RULES

Tips for avoiding a construction nightmare.

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homeowner’s permission, León works with the contractor to finish the project under his guidance. Other times it’s explosive, and León and his team have to complete the renovation themselves.This approach, which spotlights the onerous side of home renovations often overlooked by HGTV’s more aspirational 1 MIND MURPHY’S LAW “Have a conversation with your contractor about the good, bad, and ugly,” León says, “and ask about the ‘what if’ scenarios up front. ‘What if the plumber makes a mistake— who’s going to cover that?’ ”

shows, is resonating with audiences: Season one attracted 11.8 million total viewers, making it one of the mostwatched cable programs in its time slot.

Rico’s second season premieres on January 10. “I thought I saw it all, until this season,” León says. “It’s definitely spicier than season one.”—MICHELLE JOHNSON

2 OVERESTIMATE “You have to assume you’re going to go over your budget,” León says.

Many home improvement pros suggest adding 10 to 15 percent to the final estimate, and if that feels like a financial feat, consider scaling back or dividing the renovation into phases.

^

Denverite Rico León stars in HGTV’s Rico To The Rescue.

3 SET MILESTONES Create a step-by-step payment plan in your contract. “For example, ‘You will show proof that you put money down for your subcontractors. Once you prove that, I will issue you a check,’ ” León says. “It makes everyone accountable.” —MJ

Courtesy of HGTV

Each episode of HGTV’s Rico To The Rescue starts the same way. Footage of crushed concrete piles, half-demolished walls, and exposed plumbing plays while a dejected Denver-area homeowner explains that the chaos is due to a dodgy contractor. Enter the reality show’s protagonist, local home restoration expert Rico León, who, alongside interior designer Poonam Moore, saves the botched renovation.

Securing a spot on the small screen was the result of León’s own disaster turned blessing. A Pittsburgh native, León landed in Denver in 2018 when his car broke down en route to Los Angeles. He decided to stay and began working in emergency restoration and construction. It didn’t take long for him to spot a new business endeavor. “There were a lot of contractors who meant well and were good people, but they didn’t know their finances or have the right processes and systems in place. A lot of people were selling jobs that they couldn’t complete,” León says. He began consulting to help contractors with their operations and procedures, client contracts, and marketing strategies. Then, in 2021, a real estate agent friend introduced him to a television producer who loved León and his unique skill set.

Season one of Rico premiered two years later, in January 2023.

On the show, León’s superpower is being able to speak both contractor and homeowner fluently, and his first step is always to try to facilitate a conversation between the two. Sometimes the interaction is productive and, with the

H E A LT H

Put Me In, Coach

You know the phrase: new year, new you. But self-improvement doesn’t always have to take the form of a gym membership or a healthier diet. These three local wellness experts have new projects designed to coach you up in unconventional ways. —CHRIS WALKER

CURRICULUM

Scott Carney

Carney, a Denver-based journalist, has written six books, including 2017’s What Doesn’t Kill Us, a New York Times bestselling tome that investigated cold exposure therapy and helped launch the ice bathing trend.

Since 2019, McGraw has hosted Solo: The Single Person’s Guide to a Remarkable Life, a podcast that explores how loners can flourish despite unfair judgments by everyone from parents to insurance companies.

In addition to one-on-one and group coaching, Williams doles out provocative parenting tips on social media, where she’s amassed nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram.

Carney occasionally offers in-person training on emotional and physical resilience based on his 2020 book The Wedge, which examines how to push the limits of the human body, or you can watch his TEDx talks online.

NEW PROJECT

Kendra Williams

Williams learned a lot about herself and motherhood when she left a corporate job to become a stay-at-home mom in 2017. Three years later, she decided to share that hardearned knowledge as a motherhood coach.

On January 30, Solo gets some company in the form of McGraw’s eponymous book, a science-backed celebration of single life that provides tips on finding purpose, self-love, and connection.

Debuting this month, her Free The Mother podcast is based on a singular truth: Motherhood changes who you are. Each episode focuses on a different transformation new moms experience, including to their bodies, marriages, and friendships.

Set to be published on January 8, Dream covers the latest research on how dreams affect human consciousness and the surprising ways we can influence them, including for therapeutic and athletic benefits.

SAMPLE INSIGHT

Peter McGraw

This University of Colorado Boulder behavioral economist is best known as the co-author of 2014’s The Humor Code, which seeks to answer a deceptively simple question: What makes something funny?

“If you’re struggling in a traditional romantic relationship, that may not be because there’s something wrong with you,” McGraw says. “There may just be something wrong with that relationship for you.”

“Burn your outdated ‘superwoman cape,’ replace three acquaintances with one bestie,” Williams recently wrote on Instagram. “Stop giving a f#k about what others think, and drink 80 ounces of water—you’re literally dehydrated.”

Wish you could remember your dreams? Carney recommends yoga nidra, a form of guided meditation that traces its roots to India and has been proven to help practitioners enter and recall a dreamlike state without falling asleep.

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I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y S T U D I O M U T I

Taking care of all your family's legal needs.

Divorce, Child Custody, Estate Planning Denver, Boulder, Englewood, Colorado Springs www.harrisfamilylaw.com 303-515-5500

M A R I J UA N A

The First Man

A decade ago, Sean Azzariti became the first Coloradan to buy legal recreational weed. It’s been a wild ride ever since.

After serving in the Iraq War, Sean Azzariti came home to Denver in 2005 with PTSD. Although Colorado had medical marijuana at the time, he couldn’t purchase it to treat that illness because PTSD wasn’t recognized under the state statute. The omission inspired Azzariti to champion pot for everyone. He was such a passionate advocate, in fact, that the framers of Amendment 64 arranged for Azzariti to be the first person in U.S. history to buy state-sanctioned recreational weed when Colorado commenced sales in January 2014. Ten years later, we spoke with Azzariti, now a chemist for a cannabis company, about the trip legal marijuana has taken after his historic score. —SC

happening. It blew up. I was on the Arsenio Hall Show. It was insane. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend somebody with PTSD throw themselves in the limelight like that, but I’m just grateful I was able to have a platform to help other people.

Do you remember what you bought?

An eighth of Bubba Kush and a Dixie truffle. I actually still have the entire purchase sitting in the bag in my closet.

Really? You were never tempted to use it?

Nah. It’s a piece of history.

5280: You’ve been enmeshed in the cannabis scene since the beginning.

How has it changed?

Sean Azzariti: Colorado used to be the place to be. High Times hosted the Cannabis Cup here. There were lounges that you could go to, like the Grassroots Break Room. But all these places that were very friendly to the culture have gone away. It’s just a business machine at this point.

You sound a bit jaded.

I am a little bit. I’ve worked in this industry for a long time now, so I’ve seen what it had the potential to be. At one point, we were the hub for cannabis in the country. And then Colorado took it away.

It seems like you think Colorado’s weed industry now favors large companies.

Absolutely. A lot of the companies are operating at a loss, which is hard to do when you’re a small business. It’s the reason you see these big chains buying up so many licenses from former mom-and-pop shops.

Let’s go back 10 years. What was it like being the first person in the country to buy recreational cannabis?

It was a mind-blowing experience. When I walked into the dispensary that day, I didn’t realize the scope of what was 22

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From top: Sean Parsons; María Soledad Kubat/Stocksy

I’m not sure what you mean. There’s a dispensary on every corner.

Yes, but there used to be more of a culture where we would have a lot more events. I think we’ve shot ourselves in the foot with regulations, so people don’t really come here from out of state or out of the country anymore for cannabis.

INTERSECTIONS

Après Rodeo

Don’t head straight back to the ’burbs after a day of mutton bustin’ at this year’s National Western Stock Show: The neighborhoods of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea offer plenty of urban appeal to balance out the stock show’s country charm. —BARBARA O’NEIL

can catch a glimpse of their latest works on the first Friday of each month when the center opens its 1,500-foot gallery space to the public. Or swing by for occasional community events, including live art demos and open studio time.

4 Globe Music Hall 4483 LOGAN ST.

This laid-back, saloon-style venue isn’t just Globeville’s hub for live music; it’s also the neighborhood’s go-to spot for Southern fare. Carnivorous concertgoers can tuck into brisket platters and Nashville hot chicken, while vegans won’t miss pulled pork after they order the barbecue jackfruit sandwich.

You don’t need a ticket to dine in the adjacent restaurant, but food is only available when there’s a show, so you might as well grab one to dance off that banana pudding dessert in the standingroom-only venue.

5 Emmanuel’s Bakery 500 E. 45TH AVE.

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2 Prodigy Coffeehouse

4777 NATIONAL WESTERN DRIVE

4500 BROADWAY

Colorado State University’s two-year-old annex in the National Western Center offers a range of unconventional ways to learn about our world in its three buildings: Terra (land), Hydro (water), and Vida (life). If you’re a gardener without a green thumb, for example, bring samples of your 3 sick plants to Terra and E. 50th Ave. CSU will diagnose the malady for $30. If you have budding biologists 1 in tow, head to Vida E. 47th Ave. to watch surgeries (dependent on the I-70 day’s schedule) in the 2 Dumb Friends League E. 45th Ave. 4 5 Veterinary Hospital’s E. 44th Ave. operating theater.

Na We tion ste al rn Dr ive

I-25

1 CSU Spur

5280 / JANUARY 2024

Prodigy Coffeehouse’s name is more than just marketing: It’s a mission statement. Over the course of its 12- to 18-month apprenticeship program, the cafe gives young Denverites the chance to increase their economic mobility by earning resumé-enhancing certificates and learning workplace leadership skills.

So go ahead and indulge in an affogato—a shot of espresso poured over a vanilla scoop. It’s for a good cause.

3 Globeville Riverfront Art Center 888 E. 50TH AVE.

Thanks to something that’s all too rare in Denver—affordable rent—more than 80 artisans have found space in this unassuming Globeville warehouse. You

From top: Courtesy of the Colorado State University System; Sarah Banks

^

Dumb Friends League Veterinary Hospital

While you’d expect a panadería to offer plenty of traditional Mexican treats such as sweet bread conchas (pictured), this family-run spot is equally at home serving lunch staples like stuffed gorditas with your choice of filling. We’re partial to the fried pork belly burrito, but whatever you order, don’t leave without perusing the aisles of Mexican snack foods such as Duvalín, a candy cream that you can spread on crackers or eat with a spoon.

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THROUGH March 3, 2024

All Stars: American Artists from The Phillips Collection is organized by The Phillips Collection in collaboration with the Denver Art Museum. Support is provided by the Tom Taplin Jr. and Ted Taplin Endowment, the Birnbaum Social Discourse Project, Drs. Ellen and Morris Susman, Lisë Gander and Andy Main, Mike Leprino Family Foundation, the Kristin and Charles Lohmiller Exhibitions Fund, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.

Walt Kuhn, Plumes (detail), 1931. Oil on canvas; 40 in. x 30 in. The Phillips Collection: Acquired 1932

Eat & Drink W H AT ’ S H O T

This Little Piggy

Porchetta might translate from Italian to “little pig,” but the traditional dish—skin-on pork belly wrapped around a boneless loin and slow-roasted for hours—requires big effort. “You cook it on a spit, and then [to get the skin crispy], you ladle super-hot oil over it,” says AJ Paloni, chef-owner of the 10-month-old Porchetta House, a lunch-to-late-night sandwich shop in City Park West. While Paloni hopes to someday go full rotisserie with his recipe, his current oven-roasted adaptation doesn’t sacrifice the original’s crispy yet tender texture for the sake of ease. Case in point: Each day, the chef scores, rolls, trusses, and cooks two to three porchettas for the next day’s service. Then, he slices and sears individual portions to order on the flat top to regain that all-important crunch, an extra step that requires him to forgo the boneless loin and only use pork belly to keep the meat juicy. Paloni, who is half Italian and half Hispanic, straddles convention and creativity with his flavors, too. Each menu staple—the Original with arugula and a pink-peppercorn-laced sauce; the achiote-rubbed al pastor with caramelized pineapple pico and Cotija cheese; and the red-miso-marinated banh mi with pickled veggies and black sesame mayo—can be ordered as a hearty sandwich or as a loaded-fries-style dish.

Call us the Big Bad Wolf, but those are three little pigs we’ll happily eat. —ETHAN PAN

The Porchetta House’s al pastor sandwich

PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH BANKS

J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

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REVIEW

Diving Right In

Casa Bonita’s Dana Rodriguez–designed menu delivers a much improved yet still mediocre dinner with a spectacular show. —ALLYSON REEDY ometimes nostalgia is the greatest seasoning of all.

Other times…not so much.

Fifty-year-old Casa Bonita falls into the latter camp, where no one pretends the food they grew up eating inside the massive pink eatertainment venue was any good. You went for the experience of stepping into another world, one where cliff divers catapulted themselves off 30-foot waterfalls and a man in a gorilla suit inexplicably wandered around a faux Mexican courtyard. You did not go for the enchiladas.

S

^

From left: Carnitas tacos and El Diablo cocktail; a prime table for viewing the divers

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In what has to be the world’s longest soft opening, Casa Bonita is still not really open to the public, in the sense that you can’t make a last-minute reservation or stop in when you get a hankering for a puppet show. The only way to breach the heavy wooden doors is to either get a table via an email reservation system or shell out extra cash to book a private party, which is what I did a few months after the pink palace had (sorta) reopened.

By the time I got to eat at Casa Bonita, though, I was sick of hearing about Casa Bonita. You know the story:

South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker bought the restaurant in fall 2021, promising to change nothing yet improve everything. They spent more than $40 million spiffing up the plunge pool, installing a new HVAC system, and upgrading the sound and lighting setups. They signed on local chef Dana Rodriguez (of Work & Class, Super Mega Bien, and Cantina Loca) to rehabilitate the food. And when folks finally queued up for the cafeteria-style service during what the restaurant called “beta testing” this past summer, the media attention was, well, absurd. Still, like so many of us who’ve held our noses through Black Bart’s Cave and beckoned sopaipillas by raising a flag, I wanted to experience this new version of Casa Bonita for myself.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARAH BANKS

REVIEW

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BOUNTIFUL OPTIONS There’s more to West Colfax than Cartman’s favorite restaurant. From legit Chicago eats to a seriously good pizza, here’s where to dine in that part of Lakewood if you can’t score a pink palace reservation. —AR CHICAGO STYLE BEEF AND DOGS

Until Portillo’s opens its rumored Denver location, the place to get your Italian beef sandwich fix is at Chicago Style Beef and Dogs. Boasting house-made giardiniera and Turano French rolls, this spot across the street from Casa Bonita is anything but a consolation prize.

6680 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood

LECHUGA’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

food they followed had been so bad, but now the honey-drizzled pockets of fried dough tasted like the rest of the menu: underwhelming.

Do I wish the food were better? Yes. Is it awful? Not at all. Might it get better? Maybe—Rodriguez is introducing a new menu this month. Would I go back? Definitely. Casa Bonita is still a magical place. A young woman snapped pictures of guests at the Cartman table, prompting smiles by saying, “Sopaipilla!” The cliff divers put on a pretty darn good show every 20 minutes. A truly amazing magician goes from table to table performing card tricks. The gorilla still wanders, but now he’s more ManBearPig (of South Park fame) than ape.

The pink palace remains the campy, nostalgic experience Coloradans have joked about for nearly five decades. The new Casa Bonita lives up to what Parker and Stone promised—they changed nothing and improved everything. But you still don’t go for the food.

^

Casa Bonita’s executive chef, Dana Rodriguez

Compared with the original Highland restaurant’s 60-plus-year history, the West Colfax outpost of Lechuga’s is but a bambino at just seven years old. But both serve the same old-school, red sauce Italian fare, including a menu of savory cannoli plus spaghetti served out of buckets. (Yes, buckets.)

7475 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood PIZZERIA LEOPOLD

CASA BONITA

6715 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood casabonitadenver.com The Draw: A quirky—and iconic—Denver dining experience with a 50-year history

Formerly known as Deli Italia, Pizzeria Leopold is quickly becoming the area’s go-to pizza joint. The eatery tops its blistered, crispy-crusted pies with primo toppings such as Haystack Mountain Creamery cheeses, in-season Palisade peaches, and River Bear candied bacon.

1990 Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood

The Drawback: The food still isn’t great, but it’s better than it was Noise Level: High, but the roaming mariachi bands and thundering waterfall are the entire point Don’t Miss: Carnitas tacos, El Diablo cocktail, vanilla flan, mini carlota de limón

Courtesy of Pizzeria Leopold

I started, like so many do, with a margarita. On a typical Saturday night, which is when I visited, the restaurant sells 850 margaritas. Because of the volume, the drinks are batched and kegged, and the carbon dioxide gives them a slight (and slightly weird) fizziness. I found their rendition to be only OK, falling somewhere between the cloyingly sweet mix margs I’ve forced down and the freshly squeezed, balanced ideal. The better—and stronger—drink choice is El Diablo, a smoky, fruity blend of mezcal, lime, agave, black currant, and ginger beer.

For dinner I ordered the beef suadero (all adult dinner entrées are $40; $25 for kids), a large chunk of brisket, barely fork tender and a little fatty, braised in mild green chile. I would have liked more kick and depth of flavor from the chile, not to mention a leaner cut of beef. But my desired version of the dish may not have appealed to, say, a 10-year-old, or maybe even my husband, so I understand why Rodriguez might have toned down her usual bold spices and flavors. Satisfying the masses—Casa Bonita can serve 1,000 people per night—is what a restaurant such as this does.

The carnitas tacos are what you should order, but don’t expect the warm spices and bright citrus found in the finest iterations of the dish. The pork is good, but it could stand to sit in its braising liquid longer to soak up more of those garlicky, orangey juices.

Still, it’s a solid dish, served with fresh tortillas, a green chile sauce, and the same adequate beans and rice that accompany most meals. My bites of the veggie-stuffed chile relleno and taco salad both tasted fresh but, again, fairly bland.

When I raised the flag for sopaipillas, the waitperson arrived emptyhanded and instead tried to upsell us on other desserts. Not knowing when I’d return, I ordered one of each. Table favorites were the creamy vanilla flan and the mini carlota de limón, which was like a thick, tangy key lime pudding. Both were worth their $8 price tag and were better than the famous sopaipillas, which I eventually got but that didn’t taste as good as I remembered. Maybe they seemed great in the old days because the

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BUSINESS

It was the last day of a tour in Italy’s Ortler Alps, and Jeff Banks was guiding his clients up a steep slope with crampons on their boots and skis on their backs. Once they reached the top, they’d click into their bindings and enjoy deep powder on the way down to well-earned beers and warm strudel. Another group, led by Banks’ mentor, was about five minutes ahead of them, and around 40 other guides and their wards had hiked the same slope in the preceding days.

So when an avalanche broke right at his feet, Banks only had a second to be surprised. Then he thought, This is how we die.

Banks wasn’t just worried that his group might be buried alive; the slide was sure to drag him and his guests over a set of cliffs. Banks instinctively jumped uphill onto the still stable snow above the break, and for a moment, he thought he was safe. Then, just as he remembered he was roped to his clients below him, they pulled him away. “It was like going down a Class V rapid in the Grand Canyon,” Banks says. “We were incredibly lucky, because we went over all three cliff bands and we came to a stop at the bottom and were fine.”

The moment irrevocably changed Banks’ understanding of avalanche safety. “I made the wrong decision, my mentor above me made the wrong decision, and all the other guides who crossed that slope for days made the wrong decision,” he says.

And if a guide such as him, privileged to have had the best training in the world and certified by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, could make such a potentially deadly mistake, it was clear to him that how the industry had long approached avalanche safety and education was broken. It’d be more than a decade before he and his business partner, JB Leach, would try to fix it.

BANKS MET LEACH in 2020 during a levelone recreational avalanche safety class he was teaching a few miles outside of his hometown of Crested Butte. The snowpack was difficult 32

AspectAvy, a new app from a Colorado company, says it can help keep skiers and boarders safer in the backcountry. Some worry it could lead them into danger. BY N I C H O L AS H U N T

to assess. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), the Colorado Department of Natural Resources program responsible for forecasting avalanche conditions across the state, had set the day’s danger rating at moderate, the second-lowest grade on the five-level avalanche danger scale.

A moderate designation means that, while natural avalanches are unlikely, human-triggered ones are possible on certain terrain features, such as windloaded slopes where snow piles up on the downwind side of mountain ridges.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN PARSONS

5280 / JANUARY 2024

Source photos: Courtesy of AspectAvy (forecast, map, mountain); Jared Alden/Getty Images (man)

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Complicating the forecast, however, was a widespread layer of weak snow buried in the snowpack that would be hard, but not impossible, to trigger. Banks compares it to a minefield. Dozens of people could pass through unharmed, but an unlucky skier could set off a deadly slide.

It’s a situation that can frighten even experienced backcountry skiers and boarders, so Banks deviated from the standard curriculum and introduced his students to a tool he’d picked up while guiding in Europe: a color-coded graph where the x-axis is the danger level and the y-axis is what slope angles should be safe to ski. Leach, a userexperience designer in the tech industry, approached Banks about the graph while the class was in the field. “He was like, ‘This is what I do. I distill really complex problems into simple solutions,’ ” Banks says. The two men decided they wanted to bring a similar tool to the United States, but this time it’d be an app.

“This is what I do.

I distill really complex problems into simple solutions.”

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After three years of development, AspectAvy went live in November. The app, which costs $50 per year and covers at least seven Western states (with plans to expand into Europe and Canada) has a slew of features—including safety checklists, how-to videos for common but easily forgotten backcountry skills, and a route tracker—but its key attribute is its highdefinition terrain map. Instead of plotting which slope angles should be safe on a graph, AspectAvy plots them directly onto the elevation map. For an extra layer of safety, it includes a third variable in addition to slope angle and danger rating: the types of avalanche hazards local forecasters believe to be present in the snowpack.

Unlike other GPS applications, which usually include a static overlay that highlights all slopes between 30 and 45 degrees, the range at which the vast majority of avalanches occur, AspectAvy shades the slopes it thinks are dangerous that particular day.

If the day’s danger rating is moderate, for example, the map highlights all slopes steeper than 34 degrees. Stay out of the colored portion of the map and, Banks says, skiers should avoid the vast majority of avalanche accidents. (At one point, AspectAvy’s website claimed it would screen out 90 percent of avalanche accidents. That figure has

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since been removed from the site.) “We’re not going to tell you where it is low risk,” Banks says. “We are going to fucking show you.”

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THERE MIGHT BE a few problems with that plan, says CAIC director Ethan Greene. The first issue is the data—or more accurately, the lack of data. Avalanche science is a relatively new discipline, and researchers still aren’t sure how best to measure certain things such as slope angle, Greene says. And although there is evidence that different avalanche types are more likely to occur at certain slope angles, there is no consensus yet among researchers.

Silverton Avalanche School executive director Michael Ackerman puts it more bluntly.

“With a data set of 100 years,” he says, “it only takes one 300-year avalanche cycle to rewrite everything you think you know.”

More important, the recreational forecasts from avalanche centers such as CAIC that AspectAvy relies on are given for huge swaths of terrain, not for individual peaks, much less specific backcountry ski runs. So while CAIC may say to expect stable snow and low danger, that prediction might cover 1,000 square miles. Because every mountain and every slope has its own microclimate, there’s the potential for skiers to run into pockets of unstable, avalanche-prone snow that weren’t spotted by forecasters.

Level-one avalanche safety courses are designed to help skiers navigate these situations. The danger, Greene says, is if skiers use the app to shortcut the decision-making process those classes teach, or worse, use it as a substitute for avalanche education.

AspectAvy tells skiers to stay off slopes steep enough to slide when CAIC’s danger rating is “considerable,” but it won’t highlight the avalanche run-out zones below those dangerous slopes. So skiers who aren’t familiar with avalanche safety—or simply have a laissezfaire attitude toward it—could find themselves caught in an avalanche even if they’re traveling through terrain AspectAvy’s map hasn’t denoted as dangerous. (The app does warn users that triggering avalanches remotely from flat areas is possible and provides a separate tool to help users calculate how far a potential slide could run, but it’s up to them to measure every slope they traverse on or under.)

“I think of that scene in The Office where Michael and Dwight are in the car using GPS,” Ackerman says. In the episode, Steve Carell’s Michael drives into a lake after blindly listening to the GPS’ directions.

BANKS MAKES IT clear that AspectAvy isn’t a replacement for formal training, and when users first open the app, they’re greeted with

BUSINE SS

a disclaimer that says as much. But Banks agrees with his critics that his product is a shortcut—and that should be a positive, he says. “[The industry] expects skiers to…read the avalanche bulletin every day for the whole winter and spend an hour doing their tour plan. And I am like, I don’t have time for that.

I don’t know how normal people with kids and lives and responsibilities have time for that,” he says, explaining that the app is like having an expert looking over your shoulder.

That could be a good thing. Instead of leaving their level-one avalanche safety course feeling empowered to navigate the backcountry, skiers and boarders often feel lost. “It’s kinda like a college graduate being told they need to have experience in order to get a job, but they can’t get a job until they have experience,” says Andy Sovik, founder and CEO of Gunnison’s Beacon Guidebooks, which publishes compendiums of backcountry routes. AspectAvy could be another tool to help keep skiers safe as they gain that experience.

Avalanche forecasters and educators are more concerned about users who aren’t that discerning. Banks attributes the pushback to an industry that’s afraid of change—and scared of being responsible for making a bad

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call that leads to an injury or death. “That’s where we are different,” he says, referring to AspectAvy’s willingness to give skiers go/ no-go calls by telling users that if they stay off the slopes it has marked as dangerous, they should be safe. That’s something North American avalanche forecasters have never done, and if a user is injured or killed using the app, Banks is confident his team has done its due diligence. “We are clearly a disruption, and this field needs to be disrupted,” he says. “We have a system that originated when we had rotary phones. Now we live in a time where you have all the world’s knowledge on your phone. So it would be silly not to use that.”

Although Greene has concerns about the app, he doesn’t dismiss it. In fact, he says the more information skiers have, the better— as long as they make sure they know how each tool works so they can use it appropriately. “There’s a lot of devil in the details, and in general, anytime somebody offers to cure your incurable illness, you should be careful about what you’re getting,” he says.

Testing the app to understand how it works is something Greene says he hasn’t had a chance to do yet. At press time, AspectAvy hadn’t been released publicly, and Greene says

CAIC hasn’t been asked to formally provide feedback on the app. Greene says a couple of CAIC employees had informal discussions with AspectAvy last year, but they involved viewing the company’s marketing materials and taking a quick look at a beta version of the app that was too brief to form any educated opinions about the product. (Banks says a CAIC forecaster he reached out to canceled multiple meetings where they’d planned to run through the application.)

Beacon Guidebooks’ Sovik, an avid backcountry skier himself, sees both sides of the argument. Despite giving AspectAvy an endorsement that’s featured on the app’s website, Sovik acknowledges that there are still a lot of questions about the app that need to be answered—primarily about how skiers will actually use it in the field. But Sovik also believes resisting the kind of technological evolution AspectAvy represents is futile because it’s coming whether the backcountry industry wants it or not. “I think it has a lot of potential, and the goal is genuine,” he says.

“I’m excited somebody’s trying to do it.” m Nicholas Hunt is 5280’s senior editor. Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

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You don’t have to fight I-70 traffic or schlep your stuff through DIA to get

LETTERING BY MARY KATE McDEVITT

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away, thanks to these six new Denver hotels for every kind of staycationer.

EDITED BY JESSICA L a RUSSO

This spread, clockwise from top left: Thompson Denver; jewelry from Love Saro; the rooftop at Clayton Members Club & Hotel; a musician performing at Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club; Vespas at Catbird; the Thompson’s lobby; snacks and cocktails at Reynard Social in the Thompson; trophies at the Buckhorn Exchange; the Sand Creek Massacre exhibit at the History Colorado Center

THE SLATE DENVER |

DOWNTOWN

Students of the Mile High City’s past may already be familiar with Emily Griffith, the pioneering Denver Public Schools teacher who founded the Opportunity School in 1916 to provide free job training and education to “all who wish to learn,” as her institution’s motto promised. Now you, too, can walk its halls, still lined with original schoolhouse bricks, at the Slate Denver. Part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection of boutique properties, the four-story hotel opened in May 2022 after a renovation of one of the technical college’s early buildings. Guests can gaze out classroom windows in many of the 251 accommodations, and a wrought-iron staircase remains as an alternative to the elevators connecting various amenities, including a treadmill-packed fitness center. Pick up a copy of Griffith’s biography in the lobby convenience shop to read about her unsolved, national-newsmaking 1947 murder before you try to drift off. (The homicide happened near Nederland, so we don’t think the schoolhouse is haunted.) While the high-ceilinged standard rooms, which begin around $149 per night, are fairly basic, they offer history aficionados a convenient staging ground to explore more of downtown’s storied locales while also giving them an opportunity every pupil dreams of: to sleep in class. —Chris Walker

at the 10th Avenue and Osage Street station in time for your reservation at the Buckhorn Exchange, a Denver institution since Henry H. “Shorty Scout” Zietz opened it in 1893. After you’ve passed a cape buffalo shot by Teddy Roosevelt and one of Annie Oakley’s guns on the way to your table, sample the Buckhorn’s infamous appetizer: Rocky Mountain oysters.

9 p.m. The E Line northbound to Union Station, plus a short walk to the 91-year-old Cruise Room in the Oxford Hotel, will transport you back to the art deco era of the 1920s and ’30s. The space feels even more like The Great Gatsby with a martini in hand.

10 p.m. Catch the free 16th Street MallRide back to your bed’s plush down pillows.

DAY 2 8 a.m. Fuel up for more history lessons with the Teachers’ Lounge’s School Day Breakfast: savory eggs, garlic potatoes, and a green chile biscuit.

9:30 a.m. Check out before walking to the Capitol for your reserved 10 a.m. walking tour with Discover Denver Tours ($2 booking fee). Across 1.7 miles and 2.5 hours, you’ll hear about visionary politicians, scoundrels, heists (two!) at the U.S. Mint, and the saving of Larimer Square.

12:30 p.m. Before you head home (and back to the present), savor lunch at LoDo’s Wynkoop Brewing Company, Colorado’s first brewpub.

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Previous spread, clockwise from top left: Courtesy of Julie Soefer; Kelsey Huffer, Poppy & Co./Courtesy of Love Saro; Courtesy of Caleb Alvarado; Courtesy of Armando Martinez; Courtesy of Nathan Hindman; Sarah Banks; Courtesy of Shawn X Campbell; Robert Harding/Alamy Stock Photo; Courtesy of History Colorado

DAY 1 Noon Ditch your car at the SP+ garage at Tremont Place and 15th Street, a few blocks from the hotel, for $16 per day (or pay $57 for the Slate’s valet service).

Then walk to the Brown Palace Hotel for pub fare at its lobbyadjacent Ship Tavern.

2 p.m. Stroll to the History Colorado Center ($15). Take in the top-floor exhibit on the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 before heading to the third floor to peruse the state’s history in 100 objects, including one of John Denver’s favorite guitars.

4 p.m. After checking in, sidle up to the bar at the Slate’s full-service restaurant, Teachers’ Lounge Food & Drink, and order the Helles Lager from Tivoli Brewing Company, which opened in 2012 and operates in the same location (on the current Auraria Campus) as the original mid-1800s Tivoli Brewery.

6:30 p.m. Take the D or H Line south from the light-rail stop at Stout and 14th streets to arrive

S TAY & P L AY

This spread, from left: The lobby at the Slate Denver; cocktails at the art-deco-inspired Cruise Room; accommodations at the Berkeley Hotel

This spread, from left: Courtesy of the Slate Denver; Courtesy of the Cruise Room; Courtesy of Tommy Ellis and Justin Martin

DAY 1

THE BERKELEY HOTEL |

BERKELEY

You need not choose between things and experiences when retail therapy itself is your entertainment. And there may be no better place to shop until you drop—into silky Sheex linens—than northwest Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, thanks to the March 2021 opening of the Berkeley Hotel. The diminutive new-build has 17 suites, many of which include private balconies overlooking indie-storefront-lined Tennyson Street. Onebedrooms start at $220 per night, but if you’re bringing along a gaggle of shopping buddies, two-bed options can accommodate up to six people each. Contactless check-in means you can save your patience for the dressing rooms, and ample closet space awaits your wardrobe additions.

But the real draw—and danger, to your bank account anyway—is the envy-inducing furnishings that just might spark your next remodel. Each bedroom features eye-catching wallpaper curated by Batya Stepelman, founder of Denver-based boutique WallTawk, and European minimalist kitchens from German design firm Bulthaup, with Viking ranges and Miele refrigerators, that will have you creating a Pinterest mood board.

Luckily, all you have to do is walk downstairs and out the Berkeley’s luxe tile-covered lobby to start checking things off your list. —Ethan Pan

12:30 p.m. Tennyson has stores for every kind of spree, and part of the fun is wandering from shop to shop and chatting up the friendly proprietors. Can’tmiss staples, however, include SecondLove for femme-focused consignment togs, Berkeley Supply Co. for rugged-chic menswear, Feral for gear, and GHC Studio for pet accessories.

3:30 p.m. Pick out a few Pét-Nat sparkling wines at 12-year-old Small Batch Liquors.

The trendy, rustically produced style generally has a softer fizz than Champagne.

4 p.m. Park your car in the hotel’s complimentary garage and use your room’s digital entry code to drop off your finds before taking those bottles to the Berkeley’s rooftop deck, where you can gather around the fire pit and watch the sun set.

7 p.m. Clean up—and perhaps snip the tags from a brand-new ’fit?—in time for your reservation at Hey Kiddo, the wildly

popular 12-table eatery (on the third floor of the Asher hotel) opened a year ago by the team behind the Wolf’s Tailor and Basta. Order the wagyu beef galbi and the grilled mushrooms.

9 p.m. Down a narrow hallway, you’ll find OK Yeah, Hey Kiddo’s intimate back bar, where you can tell the bartender what you’d like to enjoy as a bespoke nightcap.

DAY 2 7:50 a.m. Avoid the usual 20-minute line at Bakery Four by walking downstairs to the hotel’s buzzy next-door neighbor just before it opens. Grab a country loaf and Isigny SainteMère cultured butter to pan-fry in your room’s gourmet kitchen.

10 a.m. Make some (adoptable!) feline friends at the Denver Cat Company cafe ($12 per reservation) over a cup of drip coffee before checkout at 11.

11:30 a.m. Have a corner of trunk space left? Fill it with highquality skincare products from Heyday, which opened last year.

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CLAYTON MEMBERS CLUB & HOTEL |

CHERRY CREEK

Stepping into the Clayton’s lounge-y lobby, with its tufted sofas and pool table, feels a little like entering an exclusive club—and really, you are. In addition to 63 luxurious rooms that start at $269 per night, the nearly three-year-old boutique hotel offers a social membership option that grants access to a host of amenities otherwise reserved for overnight guests. That means you can indulge in stimulating conversations with a diverse group of local movers and shakers at club happenings such as wine tastings, drag brunches, book discussions, and trivia nights.

(Check the online event calendar before booking your stay.) Or simply rub elbows in the Clayton’s workout facilities—which include machines, weights, and a studio that hosts rotating classes taught by instructors from Cherry Creek’s many fitness meccas—and in the sprawling indoor/outdoor co-working space with a daytime coffee bar and restaurant on the second floor. The property’s crown jewel, however, is the rooftop, where chef de cuisine Ian Wortham, a Tavernetta alum, runs a beachy-chic eatery that churns out wood-fired pizzas and spritzes next to the pool, which has its own bar. Add in the three ground-floor, public drinking and dining establishments (all run by New York City–based restaurant group Quality Branded), and it’s easy to #treatyoself without leaving the property. But that would be a shame, given the Clayton’s location amid some of the city’s bougiest blocks. —JL

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DAY 2 7:25 a.m. Claim your treadmill or bench for a HIIT class ($33) in the Red Room at celebfavorite, LA export Barry’s a few blocks west. Preorder your $10 post-workout protein shake—it’s all part of the experience.

9 a.m. After rinsing off back at your room, redeem the tokens you got at check-in for a Rebel Bread croissant and latte at the Clayton’s coffee bar.

9:30 a.m. Weather allowing, head up to the pool, heated year-round, to claim a daybed and bask. Snowing? Escape to nearby, Tulum-inspired the Now Massage for an energy-balancing Healer treatment ($125 for 50 minutes) before checking out.

This spread, from left: Courtesy of Jimena Peck and Caleb Alvarado; Courtesy of Barry’s; Courtesy of Julie Soefer

are standouts among Kini’s lineup of fresh Mediterranean fare. You may be tempted to dance your meal off to DJfueled beats at Chez Roc, the Clayton’s sexy on-site lounge, but save it for another time— you have an early morning.

Credits Tk

DAY 1 12:45 p.m. Have an Uber drop you at the Clayton and ask the hotel to hold your luggage: Overnight valet is $49, and trust us, you don’t want to drive in Cherry Creek anyway.

1 p.m. It’s easy to slip into vacation mode at nearby Ay Papi, a six-month-old, Miami-inspired bar with light nibbles, such as an heirloom tomato salad, and perfectly mixed mojitos.

2 p.m. Head a few blocks east to Denver fashion mainstay A Line Boutique for the free appointment you made with one of the store’s personal stylists.

3:15 p.m. Leave time for a stop at mother-and-daughter-owned Love Saro—where you can score an all-the-rage permanent (i.e., welded on) bracelet, anklet, or necklace—on your short stroll along Third Avenue to Facial Aesthetics. The medical spa has been peeling and injecting Denverites’ mugs for more than three decades, but if that sounds intimidating, book the HydraFacial (starting at $249), during which a certified esthetician uses gentle, wet-suction vacuum technology to purify and nourish your skin without causing redness.

5 p.m. Check in and spend a long time primping—a blissful task, thanks to the rain showerheads, organic Grown Alchemist bath products, and plush white robes—before dinner. (Break out the heels; you’re not walking far.)

6:45 p.m. Head down to Cretan’s, the first-floor wine bar, and pick out your own glassware and bottle of natural wine ($80) from the mystery fridge. No need to chug; you can take it across the lobby when it’s time for your dinner reservation.

7:30 p.m. The tableside-fired kasseri cheese, beet muhammara dip, molasses-sweetened meatballs, and fish by the pound

S TAY & P L AY

THOMPSON DENVER |

LODO

In February 2022, the luxury Thompson brand debuted its first Colorado location in LoDo, helping drive the district’s culinary revival in a postpandemic world. Chez Maggy, the hotel’s first-floor restaurant, is part of the fresh crop of cafes, bars, and restaurants inspiring locals and visitors to return downtown following years of drawbacks, from concerns about crime to construction on the 16th Street Mall. At Chez Maggy, Michelin-starred French chef Ludo Lefebvre injects his signature brasserie-style cuisine with a Colorado flair that yields elegant bites such as butter-drenched trout almondine. His creations are among the property’s many delicious assets, which also include a lobby coffeeshop and an upscale cocktail lounge.

When guests aren’t eating and drinking their way through the Thompson and the surrounding neighborhood, they can kick back in one of the 216 rooms and suites. We’re partial to the king bed corner room, which is equipped with a balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows (rates start at $299 per night). But all accommodations sport mountain-chic decor, such as saddle-leather headboards and brass accents, and pampering amenities the Thompson brand is known for, including plush robes and slippers, free-to-stream CorePower yoga classes, and Bluetooth-enabled Victrola Linden wood radios. —Patricia Kaowthumrong

Credits Tk

This spread, from left: King room at Clayton Members Club & Hotel; a workout class at Barry’s; Reynard Social, inside Thompson Denver

DAY 1 Noon Splurge on valet parking in the hotel garage ($59 per night) or take the train to Union Station, just a five-minute walk from the Thompson. For lunch, pop into Mono Mono Korean Fried Chicken on Blake Street for bone-in wings that are fried to a crackly crisp and tumbled in your choice of sauce, such as fiery mango habanero.

2 p.m. Linger over a cocktail, such as the Bubbles the Champagnzee—a mix of elderflower liqueur, Champagne, soda, and lemon—while you craft a set of customized coasters or a leather flask at Upstairs Circus, a bar meets DIY workshop with more than 25 projects to choose from.

4 p.m. Check into the hotel and then grab a glass of French bubbles at the horseshoe-shaped lobby bar. Or, if you’re there on a Wednesday or on certain Thursday evenings, join a Find Your Inner Rocker or Bitchin’ Stitchin’ session: expert-led guitar and embroidery classes complemented by libations.

6:30 p.m. Arrive at Tavernetta, where the team behind Boulder’s Michelin-starred Frasca Food and Wine serves polished Italian cuisine. Must-order dishes include the fluffy focaccia, beef carpaccio laced with Grana

Padano cheese, and any of the handmade pastas.

9 p.m. Mosey back to the hotel and ascend to Reynard Social on the sixth floor. The bar’s alpine chalet theme is reflected in its playfully named drinks and cozy ambience. Unwind on a fireadjacent couch with a King of Beasts cocktail: cocoa-butterwashed Johnnie Walker Black Scotch, vanilla, and citrus.

11 p.m. Dive into your ultrasoft Egyptian cotton Sferra sheets, which are imported from Italy.

DAY 2 8 a.m. Venture downstairs for breakfast at Chez Maggy to fuel up with Lefebvre’s play on the Denver omelet, stuffed with Gruyère, Parisian ham, and diced bell peppers and onions.

10 a.m. Checkout is at 11, which gives you time to spin some tunes in the sixth floor’s listening lounge. Victrola, a 118-year-old turntable manufacturer that moved its headquarters from New York to RiNo in 2021, outfitted the space with record players and a vinyl collection.

Noon Lunchtime calls for one last indulgence: Mercantile Dining & Provision’s sandwiches and salads, produced with ingredients from local farms and ranches, in Union Station.

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BALLPARK

If you can recite the Colorado Rockies roster by heart, are the first to flip your rally cap when things get rough (OK, they’re always rough these days, but still), and really get into that seventh-inning stretch, then perhaps no one will appreciate the Rally Hotel more than you. Located across the street from Coors Field in McGregor Square, this modern hotel, opened in March 2021, is the ideal home base for baseball enthusiasts.

Inside the 182-room retreat, you’ll find nods to the Rally’s neighbor that are both subtle (lamps made of smooth maple wood to resemble bats) and spectacular (the fountain in the lobby that sends baseballs swirling around a track). Be sure to peruse the Rockies memorabilia in the lobby before heading to the Skybridge Rooftop Deck and Plunge Pool for a view of the stadium you won’t find anywhere else in the city. During the summer months, you should enjoy pours and poolside bites from High Society, the rooftop bar and grill, but you can sink into the hot tub and soak in panoramic views of the city year-round. Before the game, throw back a pint of the Mile High Jinks, a beer with a smooth honey finish that’s brewed in partnership with Colorado Native just for restaurant and hotel guests. And if your single pour turns into three, don’t stress: It’s a four-minute stroll to Coors, so you won’t miss first pitch. —Jessica Giles

DAY 1 Noon Take the train to Union Station, then make the short, two-block walk to the Rally at the corner of 20th and Wazee streets. You’ll save money on the valet ($54), and it’s easy to stroll to restaurants, bars, and shops from the hotel.

1 p.m. Head to the Milepost Zero food hall in McGregor Square for lunch options and self-serve suds from a beer wall.

We recommend a smorgasbord including the Tora Roll from Tora Sushi & Ramen, the totchos from Zeps Epiq Sandwiches, and a New York slice from Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta.

3 p.m. In search of a new Chuck Nazty jersey? Swing by the Rally

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Store in the lobby to shop for fresh Rockies gear you can wear to the game. (If you don’t find your flair there, visit the Diamond Dry Goods Store on the first base side of Coors Field.)

4 p.m. Check in, throw on your bathing suit, and hit the rooftop deck and pool.

6 p.m. Head across the street to the stadium for a few pregame pints. The Rooftop slings $3

pours of Coors for two hours prior to first pitch.

7 p.m. Take in the thrill of a ballgame at Coors Field. If the on-field entertainment is lackluster—which, let’s be honest, it might be—check out the interactive area, where you can try to hit a home run at a virtual Coors Field or test your arm in the speed pitch stall.

8 p.m. Fuel up for the fifth inning with a stop at one of the stadium’s vendors. We recommend the Sandlot Brewery, near section 113, for crispy burnt ends, mesquite housesmoked sausage, and beer that keeps flowing past the seventh inning (inside the taproom, that is).

11 p.m. Sink into your king-size bed and read a few chapters from one of the books in your in-room bundle, curated by Tattered Cover Book Store.

DAY 2 9 a.m. Slide into a vintage booth at the OG, the Rally’s take on an old-school brunch eatery.

Start with the signature doughnut sliders and then turn to eggs Benedict for a hearty plate sure to cure any hangover.

11 a.m. Examine way more than just Rockies paraphernalia at the National Ballpark Museum on Blake Street. This privatemade-public collection of baseball memorabilia shows off everything from turnstiles and seats to bats and scoreboards from 14 classic ballparks (think: Fenway, Ebbets, Comiskey, and the like).

Noon There’s no better way to end your stay than with an elk jalapeño cheddar dog from Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs at 22nd and Larimer streets.

This spread, from left: Courtesy of the Rally Hotel (2); Courtesy of Catbird

THE RALLY HOTEL |

S TAY & P L AY DAY 1 This spread, from left: The rooftop pool at the Rally Hotel; the Rally’s entryway; Catbird’s lobby

CATBIRD |

Noon Drop your car off with Catbird’s valet ($52 per night), rent one of the hotel’s Vespa scooters (included!), and zoom the mile or so over to Comal Heritage Food Incubator. The nationally lauded lunch spot, whose mission is to teach immigrant and refugee women restaurant skills, recently relocated to a warehouse across the South Platte River.

2 p.m. Explore the surrounding two-year-old RiNo Art Park, home to 10 original murals by big-name local artists such as Kaitlin Ziesmer and Koko Bayer.

4 p.m. Back at Catbird, it’s time to officially check in and ascend to the Red Barber, Catbird’s rooftop bar—open all year, thanks to heated tents—with sweeping views of the Denver skyline. Find your star sign on the menu of astrology-themed drinks, but we won’t judge if you stray from your constellation.

We like the Scorpio’s boozy mix of vodka, gin, and prickly pear and elderflower liqueurs, which hotel guests can sip while soaking in the rooftop hot tubs.

6:30 p.m. Once you’re ready for dinner—and art in the form of live jazz—embark on the milelong stroll to Nocturne Jazz &

Supper Club. The venue serves classic cocktails and a seasonal three-course menu.

9 p.m. One block away, find late-night drinks and dancing at the Beacon, a two-year-old bar slash immersive art space. Its six unique areas, from a dance floor under a makeshift cloud to a room filled with LED orbs and mirrors, were created by more than 20 artists.

11 p.m. Keep the party going back at Catbird via the hotel’s playroom, where you can borrow record players, Polaroid cameras, or board games for free.

DAY 2 9 a.m. Free breakfast here means a made-to-order entrée and coffee at the Catbird Kitchen—so don’t sleep too late.

10 a.m. Say bye to Catbird and hello to the Denver Graffiti Tour ($30, weekends year-round) you prebooked online. The twohour walking adventure teaches you about RiNo’s street art and the neighborhood’s complex history of gentrification.

2 p.m. Pick up a colorful teapot or eclectic sculpture as a souvenir from 17-year-old Plinth Gallery on Brighton Boulevard, the epicenter of Denver’s contemporary ceramic scene. m

RINO

Too many Denverites think beer instead of art when they think about the RiNo area. And that’s a shame. A stay at Catbird could change their minds.

Opened in 2021 in the northeast corner of the RiNo Art District, the boutique hotel has 165 accommodations—ranging from simple studios to a four-bedroom guesthouse—with a luxury loft feel. Save your cash for the surrounding galleries and book a studio; although it’s the most affordable offering (rates start at $150 per night), the room’s function-meets-form design is far more visually stimulating than that of your average Holiday Inn. The 390-square-foot space has a lofted bed over a closet space and a pull-out desk; a giant window that doubles as a backdrop for an HD projector; and a kitchenette complete with a stove, cookware, a sink, a microwave, and a roomy refrigerator. Outside your door, hallways and other communal spaces are lined with original works from local and national artists, including muralists Moe Gram and Daisy Patton, and tiny contemporary sculptures in the lobby spark inspiration even before you head out to immerse yourself in one of the city’s best art scenes. —Barbara O’Neil

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RUBR IC

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After a suspected con man disappeared from Colorado and left tens of thousands of dollars unaccounted for, his employees, contractors, and investors are still wondering who Aaron Clark really was—and where he is today.

BY CHRIS WALKER

ILLUSTRATION BY ANDRÉ CARRILHO

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COLORADO • MARCH 9, 2021

The 10-tops were draped with dark blue tablecloths.

White candles were aglow as centerpieces. Wine glasses clinked and applause filled the air in the ballroom at the Hotel Boulderado as

Wearing a pink sweater and dark-rimmed glasses and sporting a neatly trimmed beard that faded into an Afro, Clark listened as Boulder’s business elite took a break from their steak dinners to applaud as he accepted the Boulder Chamber’s Startup of the Year award. Equity Solutions, Clark’s nine-month-old company, which offered diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings, had just won one of Colorado’s most prestigious business awards.

But Clark didn’t smile. Instead, the honoree began reading from a sober speech he’d prepared. “The year 2020 will be marked by history as one of the most pivotal times in this generation,” Clark said. “[From] the murders of Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, and too many others…I truly believe our world will never be the same.”

The room was rapt. Clark took his eyes off his prepared remarks. “I stand here today not for myself,” he said, his voice rising. “I’m merely a figurehead for this time.”

Clark was now speaking extemporaneously, giving the audience a taste of what Brad Feld, the man who’d introduced the award, referred to as Clark’s passion. Feld, one of Colorado’s most powerful and influential businessmen, is a nationally renowned venture capitalist and a co-founder of Techstars, the startup accelerator that birthed such billion-dollar companies as SendGrid, Zipline, and Digital Ocean. “I met Aaron last summer [in 2020],” Feld had said in a video address before Clark took the stage. “Simply put: Aaron is awesome, and his contributions will have a long-lasting, positive impact on our community.”

As Clark neared the end of his speech, he expressed gratitude for fellow Black business owners in Boulder who he said deserved more visibility. “To my wonderful team at Equity Solutions,” Clark said, “I say thank you.”

Applause filled the ballroom once again as Clark exited the stage. But his grace and conviction belied the fact that not all was well at the startup Feld and so many others had lauded. In fact, Equity Solutions would cease to exist within a year. And the team members Clark thanked? Many of them scoffed at the idea that Clark deserved any positive recognition at all.

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COLORADO • MAY 2020

Brenda Herrera Moreno had tried to find a way into Colorado’s mostly white tech scene for years, but no matter what she said, she could not get tech companies interested in diversity trainings or equity efforts. After a while, the Denver-based DEI consultant became used to being rebuffed or ignored.Then the Black Lives Matter protests began.

Over 16 consecutive days, thousands of protesters filled downtown Denver and Civic Center Park as part of a nationwide reckoning over racial justice. One group of demonstrators shut down I-25. Others staged a “die-in” beneath the golden dome of the state Capitol. Everyone, it seemed, believed it was time, as a society, to acknowledge systemic racism, and that included addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.

Almost overnight, companies ranging from small startups to major corporations were posting open letters about their commitments to fighting racism. The messaging came with an unprecedented investment by corporate America in diversity efforts. For individuals such as Herrera Moreno, it was well past time. The then 27-yearold realized the zeitgeist would present a chance to re-approach the tech companies, including those in Boulder, who’d previously waved her off. She wasn’t the only person who recognized 2020 as a generational moment.

That summer, Herrera Moreno began hearing about a Colorado newcomer named Aaron Clark who was popping up all over the local tech ecosystem, including leading equity initiatives for Boulder Startup Week and for entrepreneurship organizations such as Energize Colorado and the Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute. Herrera Moreno was surprised that someone outside of Colorado’s small, established circle of DEI consultants was making inroads where others had failed. But when she met Clark, she was impressed. It wasn’t just that Clark paired his apparent convictions with enviable confidence; he also demonstrated considerable skill in facilitating difficult conversations, something Herrera Moreno witnessed firsthand.

She watched as Clark discussed race with white business leaders in a way that not only directly challenged them but also got them to open up, all while not damaging the professional relationship.

Clark may have been new to the Centennial State, but Herrera Moreno’s excitement about and trust in him grew quickly. “He was extremely talented in garnering commitments from people,” she recalls.

“And he was a really great salesman.”

By July 2020, Herrera Moreno was sold. She accepted Clark’s invitation to work as a contractor for a subsidiary of Equity Solutions called Equity Consultants of Colorado (ECC), where she helped him hire what she describes as the “cream of the crop” of Front Range DEI consultants for PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES STUKENBERG

that they were going to be meaningful for him, and they were not,” she says. “This was a situation I never expected to see in a business that was supposed to be doing good.”

More than three years later, Herrera Moreno, who ultimately hired a lawyer to collect what she was owed, still gets emotional when describing her time at ECC. And she continues to be devastated that she unwittingly recruited friends to join such a toxic and dysfunctional workplace. Herrera Moreno says there are numerous ECC alumni who are still grieving the hit their professional reputations took and the “loss of an opportunity of a lifetime” to advance DEI efforts.

By the time Clark accepted the Boulder Chamber award in March 2021, he’d already moved on to bigger things. “He was ascending so quickly into different levels of power and influence across the city that I knew that we were never his priority,” Herrera Moreno says.

ECC officially shuttered in mid-2021. After that, she could only watch as Clark networked and glad-handed his way into another position from which he wreaked further financial and emotional havoc.

COLORADO • DECEMBER 2022

trainings and presentations at client companies around Denver and Boulder. In some ways, it was the dream scenario for Herrera Moreno, given the people she got to work with and the companies she gained access to.

The dream, however, quickly turned nightmarish. Within a few months, Herrera Moreno faced a dilemma: While the trainings she and others were conducting for clients were going well, payroll was not. She and other ECC contractors weren’t getting paid on time. At first, Clark’s promises about forthcoming paychecks seemed believable. But as her fellow contractors began quitting without having been paid, Herrera Moreno spoke with her boss. “I had a couple of heart-to-hearts with him, thinking

Venture capitalist Danielle Shoots sent a scathing email to Aaron Clark in late 2021.

The trial had disappeared from the courthouse docket. I’d seen the proceedings scheduled on Denver County’s court calendar for weeks, ever since a friend asked me, a reporter who covers criminal justice issues, to keep tabs on the case. When he called me to ask why the case had been removed, I wasn’t even aware that it was gone. As it turned out, he was following the court’s schedule more fastidiously than I had been. That made sense. For him, the case was personal.

One year before, in 2021, my friend had narrowly avoided becoming a victim of wage theft. He’d done some contract work for a nonprofit Clark founded in December 2020 called Justice Reskill, which offered job training, including computer programming, to Coloradans who had been convicted of criminal offenses. Clark didn’t pay my friend until lawyers got involved. The plaintiffs in the now-disappeared civil case, a Denver-based staffing agency called Diverse Talent, were alleging Clark did something similar to them—except this time, Clark never paid the $42,000 he owed. “Let me call around,” I told my friend.

“But I imagine the case was settled.”

I was wrong. The trial had been taken off the calendar because neither the court nor the plaintiff ’s lawyers could reach Clark. He’d vanished.

Maybe this shouldn’t have been a surprise. In March 2022, the Denver Post ran an exposé about Clark, ECC, and Justice Reskill that contained shades of Billion Dollar Whale and The Wolf of Wall Street: Dozens of employees and con­ tractors were alleging wage theft, claims of nonpayments stretched into the low six figures, and at the center of it all was a mysterious man whose meteoric rise into circles of financial and political power was so spectacular that it could only be eclipsed by a dramatic fall.

Within weeks of the Post’s story, Justice Reskill collapsed. Students who’d already started its free vocational courses found themselves without teachers or J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

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final exams. Vast sums of startup cash Clark had raised went unaccounted for. And two civil lawsuits had begun wending their ways through court, including the one brought by Diverse Talent.

I wondered how many of Clark’s alleged victims were aware of his disappearing act.

I pondered where all that money could’ve gone, but a larger question also nagged at me: Who was Aaron Clark, anyway? The Denver Post had only traced his history as far back as 2018. I did some research, but my initial efforts yielded nothing more. The details of Clark’s life before 2018 remained a blur.

Then, one afternoon in early January 2023, I was poking around online for traces of Clark’s old usernames and social media accounts, when I happened upon an email address that caught my attention: perrinclark@gmail.com. I popped over to Google and entered “Perrin Clark” into the search bar. The results made me sit up straight in my chair.

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA • 2007

At the northeast corner of Sonoma Plaza, a small, manicured park ringed by boutiques, the Sonoma Sausage Company beckoned passersby with its famous links. The artisanal meat purveyor, which encased everything from brats to bangers, was beloved by locals and celebrities alike; Julia Child once conducted an interview with Good Morning America in the small sausage store. Its newest owner, Vance Sharp, hoped to build on that celebrated history.

In 2002, Sharp purchased the Sonoma Sausage Company to complement Sharp Cellars, a winery he had founded that specialized in Zinfandel. By 2007, the then 57-year-old was looking to grow his sausage empire’s reach by hiring both a sales representative and a new office manager to work at the business’ Napa Valley production facility.

Sharp remembers interviewing a young man named Perrin Clark and his wife, Rachel, for the respective positions. “He seemed like a sharp kid,” says Sharp, who gave the 27-year-old father of three full reign over the sales department. “And his wife was really good, too.”

For a while, Sharp’s new hires performed well. Then, sometime around October 2007, Sharp noticed an unusual charge on his business’ American Express card. “And I thought, Wait a minute. I don’t have a Toyota,” Sharp says. “Why is a Toyota repair bill being paid by me?”

Sharp remembered that his newest employees drove a Toyota. According to Sharp, when he asked Rachel about the charge, she admitted the repair had been for the couple’s car. Somehow, they must have mixed up their personal and business credit cards, she said. But after a month went by and the Clarks failed to reimburse him, Sharp says he grew concerned about other issues, including Perrin’s resistance to hiring an associate sales representative. Sharp resolved to confront the Clarks after they returned from a planned holiday vacation. He never got the opportunity. First, Perrin submitted a letter of resignation. Then, after the holidays, Rachel didn’t return to work as planned.

Sharp began sifting through his company’s financial records, where he discovered evidence of checks written out to the Clarks that he’d never signed but that 50

5280 / JANUARY 2024

Regan Byrd worked with Aaron Clark at Equity Solutions until it collapsed in 2021.

had his signature on them. New credit cards had been opened in the company’s name. When the businessman contacted police, investigators made additional discoveries. “They buried stuff deep,” Sharp says. “Like, there were invoices that were paid, but they’d been paid multiple times.”

On top of all that, an expensive sausage-making machine had disappeared from the production facility, as well as a heat lamp and a deep fryer Sharp used to sell hot dogs at auto races. In June 2008, Napa County’s district attorney issued an indictment. A judge signed a warrant for the couple’s arrest, and after Rachel and Perrin were detained, police discovered they had been holding onto the sausage-making machine since leaving the company.

Prosecutors charged the couple with 31 criminal counts, including embezzlement, theft, and check forging. Before a jury trial was set to begin in early 2009, both Perrin and Rachel pleaded no contest to all of them. Sharp remembers feeling sympathy for the young parents, who would live the rest of their lives with felonies on their records. Still, he says today, “We’ve got to be as hard on white-collar crime as we are on other crimes.” And besides, he says, he felt personally wronged by Perrin. “The thing that hurt me so bad was I—as an African American business owner—was giving this young, seemingly bright African American man an opportunity,” Sharp says. “And then he did this to me.”

The Clarks spent about six months out of a 364-day sentence in county jail, after which Sharp received restitution payments for about five years.

“I want to say they paid back around $30,000 [of what the court ultimately decided was around $250,000 owed],” Sharp says. But the payments didn’t last. Sharp says the last check he received came from Perrin in August 2014, a couple of months before his probation was set to end. “That check was for one cent—one penny,” Sharp says.

“He was trying to tell me, ‘Fuck you.’ ”

County District Attorney’s Office, the business’ website was yanked offline and Clark stopped answering his phone.

Clark seemed to leave traces of failed businesses almost everywhere he went.

After Jubilee Farm, he founded Free Juice in 2014 in Berkeley, California, to sell fruit and vegetable juices that were “free of additives.” Clark sold subscriptions for juice cleanses at farmers’ markets, but once again, Yelp reviews chronicled a rapid demise. This time, it wasn’t just customers who claimed they’d been bilked

by Clark; it was also business partners. “Unfortunately, the owner is a fraud,” one reviewer wrote, “and never paid his vendors (us included) or his employees.”

Although the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office says it has no records indicating it looked into Clark for allegations of consumer fraud with Jubilee Farm, Alameda County, which encompasses Berkeley, the home base of Free Juice, is a different story. The DA’s office there does have criminal files related to Clark, but they have nothing to do with additive-free juice.

BERKELE Y, CALIFORNIA • 2013

Jack Hoynacki was stoked. The University of California, Berkeley, undergrad had spotted a listing for a private room for rent on Craigslist, and the unit looked perfect.

It was only eight blocks from campus, plus the price was right. The 20-year-old arranged to see the room and meet the landlord, who lived in another space on the property and seemed affable enough. After seeing the unit, Hoynacki sent in the security deposit as well as first and last month’s rent for a total of $2,400.

ELK GROVE, CALIFORNIA • 2012

About 15 miles southeast of Sacramento, California, the stucco strip malls and suburban cul-de-sacs give way to fertile farmland. Here, near the town of Elk Grove, Jubilee Farm raised pigs, chickens, goats, and turkeys, and it grew an assortment of vegetables, all of which owner Paul Clark sold to the public under the motto “Growing clean food.”

It’s unclear whether Paul—the name Perrin Clark was using at the time—had ever spent much time on a farm, but he and Rachel were enthusiastic about the venture. In an April 2012 blog post, Clark wrote about being invited to a heritage pig competition in Los Angeles. “Well, it’s official folks! A couple of weeks ago, we received a call from the Rev. of Pork himself, [butcher] Michael Sullivan. In short, he asked if Jubilee Farm could bring one of our Berkshire pigs to compete in the Cochon 555 in LA…. We are on our way to LA for a night of great pork!”

It appears that the Clarks did show off their hogs at some farmers’ markets, but by late 2012, negative reviews had flooded pissedconsumer.com and Yelp. “Watch out! Scam!” one person wrote in December 2012. “I paid for ¾ of a guinea hog and only got 30 lbs of meat and two boxes of back fat and a head.”

At least a dozen other reviewers—some who’d paid hundreds of dollars—said they received no product at all. “Be warned you are not paying for pork but for Mr. Clark and his family to enjoy living off the hog and your money,” one client wrote. Once reviewers started posting links to articles about the Sonoma Sausage case and encouraging each other to report Jubilee Farm to the Sacramento

was I—as an African American business owner—was giving this young, seemingly bright African American man an opportunity.”

What Hoynacki couldn’t have known was that the “landlord,” who introduced himself as Perrin Clark, was a renter himself. Over a seven-month period, Clark would rent the same room to at least eight people—none of whom ever got the chance to get their keys.

As Hoynacki’s move-in day approached, he began receiving texts from Clark about the room not being ready. At first, the Cal student went along with the explanations, but after an entire month of them, Hoynacki knew he’d been scammed. After finding articles about the Sonoma Sausage case, Hoynacki called the Napa County Probation Department to find out the name of Clark’s probation officer. Then Hoynacki returned to the house in Berkeley to confront Clark. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” says Hoynacki, who admits the incident has made him less quick to trust people. “I was standing in the doorway, and [Clark’s] eyes were so bloodshot, like he hadn’t been sleeping.”

The moment Clark made another excuse about the room, the college student fired back. “I don’t think Nicole would be too happy to hear about this,” he said, referring to Clark’s probation officer.

The threat worked, and weeks later, Hoynacki received a refund. Still, the undergrad was shaken up enough that he called local police, and through a free legal service offered at Cal, learned about other students who had reported problems with Clark. One year later, in September 2014, the Alameda County district attorney issued a 13-count indictment against Clark, including nine felony charges for grand theft and forgery. Clark pleaded no contest to one felony count of grand theft of real property and received five years of probation. CONTINUED ON PAGE 84 J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

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DENVER’S More than 500 of the very best attorneys in the Mile High City—and beyond.

TOP

LAWYERS 2024

BY KARYNA BALCH & KIM HABICHT

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5280 / JANUARY 2024

I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y I S R A E L G . VA R G A S

RUBR IC

J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

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RUBR IC

I

t’s simply a fact of life that even the least litigious among us will need a lawyer at some point. When you find yourself in that position, though, navigating the complicated legal world can be overwhelming, especially when you consider that the law has been split into dozens of categories: Everything from criminal law to bankruptcy to insurance necessitates specific expertise. That’s why we put together Denver’s Top Lawyers 2024, our 10th annual list of the best attorneys in the region. To compile the list, we first invited attorneys in the seven-county metro area to vote for the peers they respect most in 50 legal specialties. Survey responses in hand, we then did weeks of reporting to get an on-the-ground perspective: Who are the best litigators? The finest contract writers? Who’s been quietly building a name for herself? Who’s been coasting on an outdated reputation? Based on those interviews and our survey results, we assembled the following list of the most skilled attorneys around town.

AGRICULTURAL/RURAL

Ann Frick

Justin D. Cumming

JUDICIAL ARBITER GROUP 1 601 Blake St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-623-9000 lewisroca.com

L. Tyrone Holt

LEWIS ROCA 1 601 19th St., Suite 1000

Russell J. Sprague

CLINE WILLIAMS WRIGHT JOHNSON & OLDFATHER 221 E. Mountain Ave., Suite 240

Fort Collins 80524 970-221-2637 clinewilliams.com

Amy Wegner Kho

COAN, PAYTON & PAYNE 999 18th St., South Tower,

Suite S3100 Denver 80202 303-861-8888 cp2law.com

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Denver 80202 303-572-1919 jaginc.com

HOLT GROUP 1 675 Broadway, Suite 2100

Denver 80202 303-225-8500 holtllc.com

Rebecca Kourlis

AEGIS ADR 348 Woodlands Blvd., Suite 125 4

Castle Rock 80104 720-598-1510 aegisadr.com

Joan McWilliams

MCWILLIAMS MEDIATION GROUP .O. Box 6216 P

Denver 80206 303-830-0171 mcwilliamsmediation.com

Bill Meyer

Leland Anderson

JUDICIAL ARBITER GROUP 1 601 Blake St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-572-1919 jaginc.com

Larry Naves

JUDICIAL ARBITER GROUP 1 601 Blake St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-572-1919 jaginc.com

Steven C. Choquette

JUDICIAL ARBITER GROUP 1 601 Blake St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-534-1254 jamsdenver.com

Gordon “Skip” Netzorg

JAMS 10 17th St., Suite 2440 4

Scott L. Evans

BUCHALTER, A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION 1624 Market St., Suite 400

Denver 80202 303-253-6742 buchalter.com

Denver 80202 303-572-1919 jaginc.com

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

Denver 80202 303-299-8381 shermanhoward.com

Richard Rotole

ROTOLE & ROTOLE 6 455 S. Dayton St., Suite 3445

Englewood 80155 303-399-1600 denvermediationexperts.com

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ANTITRUST

Blain Myhre

Timothy Beyer

BLAIN MYHRE .O. Box 3600 P

Denver 80203 303-866-0481 bclplaw.com

Marsha Piccone

BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER 1 700 Lincoln St., Suite 4100

Englewood 80155 303-250-3932 blainmyhrellc.com

Karma Giulianelli

FOX ROTHSCHILD 1 225 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-592-3100 bartlit-beck.com

Angela Vichick

BARTLIT BECK 1 801 Wewatta St., Suite 1200

Denver 80202 303-292-1200 foxrothschild.com

Diane Hazel

LEWIS ROCA 1 601 19th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 720-437-2034 foley.com

Theresa Wardon Benz

FOLEY & LARDNER 1 400 16th St., Suite 200

Denver 80202 303-623-9000 lewisroca.com

Katie Reilly

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-244-1983 wtotrial.com

Frederick Yarger

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Todd Seelman

LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH 1 700 Lincoln St., Suite 4000

Denver 80203 303-861-7760 lewisbrisbois.com

APPELLATE

Denver 80202 303-892-7388 dgslaw.com

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80202 303-244-1990 wtotrial.com

BANKING Deborah Bayles

Kendra N. Beckwith

STINSON 1 144 15th St., Suite 2400

Denver 80202 303-623-9000 lewisroca.com

Robert Botts

LEWIS ROCA 1 601 19th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-376-8401 stinson.com

Sean Connelly

STINSON 1 144 15th St., Suite 2400

Denver 80203 303-302-7849 sconnellylaw.com

Kristin S. Godfrey

CONNELLY LAW 1 700 Lincoln St., Suite 2400

Denver 80202 303-500-7190 stinson.com

Christopher Jackson

GODFREY LAW GROUP 03 S. Broadway, Suite B-175 3

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Kevin M. Kelly

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80209 303-802-6336 godfreylawgroup.com

Paige Mackey Murray

LEWIS ROCA 1 601 19th St., Suite 1000

Boulder 80301 303-763-0281 appealscolorado.com

Christian Otteson

PAIGE MACKEY MURRAY 269 28th St. 3

Ruth Moore

MOORE WILLIAMS 1 4143 Denver West Parkway,

Suite 100 Golden 80401 720-370-3088 moorewilliams.com

Adam Mueller

HADDON, MORGAN AND FOREMAN 950 17th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-831-7364 hmflaw.com

Denver 80202 303-623-9000 lewisroca.com

OTTESON SHAPIRO 7 979 E. Tufts Ave., Suite 1600

Denver 80237 720-488-5425 os.law

Shawn M. Turner

HOLLAND & KNIGHT 1 801 California St., Suite 5000

Denver 80202 303-974-6645 hklaw.com

Karen Witt

LEWIS ROCA 1 601 19th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-623-9000 lewisroca.com

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4

BANKRUPTCY Britney Beall-Eder

FRASCONA, JOINER, GOODMAN AND GREENSTEIN 4750 Table Mesa Drive

Boulder 80305 303-494-3000 frascona.com

Heather Carson Perkins

Daniel M. Reilly

Darold Killmer

Denver 80202 303-607-3703 faegredrinker.com

Denver 80203 303-291-3200 fennemorelaw.com

Denver 80202 303-571-1000 killmerlane.com

FAEGRE DRINKER 1 144 15th St., Suite 3400

Kelley B. Duke

Stephen E. Berken

IRELAND STAPLETON PRYOR & PASCOE 1660 Lincoln St., Suite 3000

Denver 80204 303-623-4357 berkencloyes.com

Carolyn Fairless

BERKEN CLOYES 1 159 Delaware St.

Denver 80264 303-628-3663 irelandstapleton.com

Jeffrey Brinen

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80264 303-832-2418 kutnerlaw.com

Hubert A. Farbes Jr.

KUTNER BRINEN DICKEY RILEY 1 660 Lincoln St., Suite 1720

Robertson B. Cohen

COHEN & COHEN 1 720 S. Bellaire St., Suite 205

Denver 80222 303-933-4529 cohenlawdenver.com

James T. Markus

MARKUS WILLIAMS YOUNG & HUNSICKER 1775 Sherman St., Suite 1950

Denver 80203 303-830-0800 markuswilliams.com

Matt McCune

MCCUNE LEGAL 900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300 3

Denver 80210 303-759-0728 mccunelegal.com

Mark L. Miller

LAW OFFICES OF MARK L. MILLER 4860 Chambers Road, PMB 56

Denver 80239 303-745-3405

Michael J. Pankow

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1106 bhfs.com

Tara Salinas

SALINAS LAW GROUP 01 S. Cherry St., Suite 1100 5

Denver 80246 303-825-0197 salinaslawgroup.com

CIVIL Michael S. Burg

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

Daniel Calisher

FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER 360 S. Garfield St., Suite 600

Denver 80209 303-333-9810 fostergraham.com

Denver 80202 303-244-1852 wtotrial.com

GARNETT POWELL MAXIMON BARLOW 1512 Larimer St., Suite 950

Denver 80202 720-987-3186 garnettlegalgroup.com

Barbara A. Grandjean

HUSCH BLACKWELL 1 801 Wewatta St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-749-7200 huschblackwell.com

Suneeta Hazra

ARNOLD & PORTER KAYE SCHOLER 1 144 15th St., Suite 3100

Denver 80202 303-863-2366 arnoldporter.com

David P. Hersh

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

Lawrence G. Katz

FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER 360 S. Garfield St., Suite 600

Denver 80209 303-333-9810 fostergraham.com

Kenzo Kawanabe

OLSON GRIMSLEY KAWANABE HINCHCLIFF & MURRAY 700 17th St., Suite 1600

Denver 80202 303-535-9151 olsongrimsley.com

Michael L. O’Donnell

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80202 303-244-1800 wtotrial.com

Eric R. Olson

OLSON GRIMSLEY KAWANABE HINCHCLIFF & MURRAY 700 17th St., Suite 1600

Denver 80202 303-535-9151 olsongrimsley.com

FENNEMORE 1700 Lincoln St., Suite 2400

KILLMER LANE 1 543 Champa St., Suite 400

Katie Reilly

David A. Lane

Denver 80202 303-244-1800 wtotrial.com

Denver 80202 303-571-1000 killmerlane.com

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

John Walsh

WILMERHALE 1225 17th St., Suite 2600

Denver 80202 720-274-3135 wilmerhale.com

CIVIL RIGHTS Matthew Cron

RATHOD MOHAMEDBHAI 701 Lawrence St., Suite 100 2

Denver 80205 303-578-4400 rmlawyers.com

Tim Fox

FOX & ROBERTSON 1 Broadway, Suite B205

Denver 80203 303-951-4164 foxrob.com

Adam Frank

FRANK LAW OFFICE 1 133 N. Pennsylvania St.

Denver 80203 303-800-8222 franklawoffice.com

Tyrone Glover

TYRONE GLOVER LAW 590 Walnut St. 2

Denver 80205 303-577-1655 tyroneglover.com

Paula Greisen

GREISEN MEDLOCK 110 E. Colfax Ave., Suite 4-216 6

Denver 80220 303-876-7663 greisenmedlock.com

Erica Grossman

HOLLAND, HOLLAND EDWARDS & GROSSMAN 1437 High St.

Denver 80218 303-860-1331 hheglaw.com

John Holland

HOLLAND, HOLLAND EDWARDS & GROSSMAN 1437 High St.

KILLMER LANE 1 543 Champa St., Suite 400

Tim Macdonald

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES OF COLORADO 303 E. 17th Ave., Suite 350

Denver 80203 303-777-5482 aclu-co.org

David G. Maxted

MAXTED LAW 1 543 Champa St., Suite 400

Denver 80202 303-353-1535 maxtedlaw.com

Qusair Mohamedbhai

RATHOD MOHAMEDBHAI 701 Lawrence St., Suite 100 2

Denver 80205 303-578-4400 rmlawyers.com

Mari Newman

NEWMAN MCNULTY 1 490 N. Lafayette St., Suite 304

Denver 80218 720-850-5770 newman-mcnulty.com

Siddhartha Rathod

RATHOD MOHAMEDBHAI 701 Lawrence St., Suite 100 2

Denver 80205 303-578-4400 rmlawyers.com

Amy Robertson

FOX & ROBERTSON 1 Broadway, Suite B205

Denver 80203 303-951-4164 foxrob.com

Sarah Schielke

LIFE & LIBERTY LAW OFFICE OF SARAH SCHIELKE 1209 Cleveland Ave.

Loveland 80537 970-493-1980 lifeandlibertylaw.com

Elizabeth Wang

LOEVY & LOEVY 060 Broadway, Suite 460 2

Boulder 80302 720-502-2103 loevy.com

Denver 80218 303-860-1331 hheglaw.com

Zachary D. Warren

Anna Holland Edwards

Denver 80246 720-722-3880 highlandslawfirm.com

HOLLAND, HOLLAND EDWARDS & GROSSMAN 1437 High St.

Denver 80218 303-860-1331 hheglaw.com

HIGHLANDS LAW FIRM 01 S. Cherry St., 11th Floor 5

Laura Wolf

SPARK JUSTICE LAW 1 035 Osage St., Eighth Floor

Denver 80204 303-802-5390 spark-law.com

J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

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T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4

COMMERCIAL

Byeongsook Seo

Fred Baumann

SNELL & WILMER 1200 17th St., Suite 1900

Denver 80202 303-623-9000 lewisroca.com

Christopher Toll

LEWIS ROCA 1 601 19th St., Suite 1000

Stacy Carpenter

POLSINELLI 1 401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

Justin L. Cohen

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1254 bhfs.com

Carolyn Fairless

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80202 303-244-1800 wtotrial.com

Blake A. Gansborg

NELSON MULLINS 1 400 Wewatta St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-583-9926 nelsonmullins.com

Franz Hardy

GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI 555 17th St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-534-5153 grsm.com

David P. Hersh

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

Denver 80202 303-634-2085 swlaw.com

HOLLAND & HART 555 17th St., Suite 3200

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

COMMUNICATIONS / COMMUNICATIONS/ TECHNOLOGY Amy de La Lama

BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER 1801 13th St., Suite 300

Boulder 80302 303-223-1197 bclplaw.com

Rebecca DeCook Denver 80216 303-292-2900 moyewhite.com

Raymond L. Gifford

WILKINSON BARKER KNAUER 2138 W. 32nd Ave., Suite 300

Denver 80211 303-626-2350 wbklaw.com

Jason D. Haislmaier

BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER 1801 13th St., Suite 300

Boulder 80302 303-417-8503 bclplaw.com

Peter J. Kinsella

PERKINS COIE 1900 16th St., Suite 1400

Denver 80202 303-291-2328 perkinscoie.com

Kenzo Kawanabe

Teri Scott

Denver 80202 303-535-9151 olsongrimsley.com

Michael O’Donnell

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80202 303-244-1850 wtotrial.com

Ross Pulkrabek

KEATING WAGNER POLIDORI FREE 1290 Broadway, Suite 600

Denver 80203 303-534-0401 keatingwagner.com

Meshach Y. Rhoades

CROWELL & MORING 1 601 Wewatta St., Suite 815

Denver 80202 303-524-8660 crowell.com

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5280 / JANUARY 2024

Which attorneys did you survey?

All licensed attorneys in the seven-county metro area were welcome to participate in our survey, which went live on 5280.com in May 2023. We reached out to more than 17,700 licensed attorneys actively registered with the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and connected with local bar associations to make sure we received a strong response to the peer-reviewed ballot.

How did you ensure that big law firms didn’t stuff the ballot box?

Good question! In order to vote, attorneys had to register with their work email addresses and Colorado attorney registration numbers. We monitored IP addresses to make sure one person wasn’t voting for everyone in a firm. We checked out any suspicious votes—and tossed them if necessary.

Were the ballot results the only data you used to create the list?

No. To supplement the ballot, we did what we do best: research. We made phone calls, spent hours mining the internet for standout cases, and generally did our due diligence on each name on the list.

MOYE WHITE 3615 Delgany St., Suite 1100

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

OLSON GRIMSLEY KAWANABE HINCHCLIFF & MURRAY 700 17th St., Suite 1600

FAQ

YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LIST, ANSWERED.

SHERMAN & HOWARD 675 15th St., Suite 2300

Denver 80202 303-299-8178 shermanhoward.com

David M. Stauss

HUSCH BLACKWELL 1801 Wewatta St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-749-7200 huschblackwell.com

David A. Zetoony

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1144 15th St., Suite 3300

Denver 80202 303-685-7425 gtlaw.com

CONSTRUCTION Jean Arnold

ARNOLD & ARNOLD 7691 Shaffer Parkway, Suite A

Littleton 80127 720-962-6010 arnoldarnold.com

Henry Bangert

L. Tyrone Holt

Greenwood Village 80111 720-576-7225 bbglaw.com

Denver 80202 303-225-8500 holtllc.com

BELTZER BANGERT & GUNNELL 420 S. Quebec St., Suite 103 5

HOLT GROUP 1 675 Broadway, Suite 2100

Buck S. Beltzer

William Meyer

Greenwood Village 80111 720-576-7225 bbglaw.com

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

BELTZER BANGERT & GUNNELL 420 S. Quebec St., Suite 103 5

Laurie Choi

SNELL & WILMER 1 200 17th St., Suite 1900

Denver 80202 303-634-2000 swlaw.com

Alvin M. Cohen

WOODS AITKEN 7 900 E. Union Ave., Suite 700

Denver 80237 303-606-6700 woodsaitken.com

Kory George

WOODS AITKEN 7 900 E. Union Ave., Suite 700

Denver 80237 303-606-6737 woodsaitken.com

Mary Sue Greenleaf

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

Denver 80202 303-299-8113 shermanhoward.com

POLSINELLI 1 401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

Chloe Mickel

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1178 bhfs.com

Matthew J. Ninneman HALL & EVANS 1 001 17th St., Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-628-3300 hallevans.com

Jonathan G. Pray

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1211 bhfs.com

Tiffanie Stasiak

KUTAK ROCK 001 16th St., Suite 1800 2

Daniel M. Gross

Denver 80202 303-297-2400 kutakrock.com

Denver 80237 303-606-6720 woodsaitken.com

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT

Bret R. Gunnell

Edward Allen

Greenwood Village 80111 720-576-7225 bbglaw.com

Denver 80202 303-955-6185 allen-curry.com

WOODS AITKEN 7 900 E. Union Ave., Suite 700

BELTZER BANGERT & GUNNELL 420 S. Quebec St., Suite 103 5

ALLEN & CURRY 1 999 Broadway, Suite 1425

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Kristen M. Frost

How did you pick the specialties represented on the ballot?

We assembled this year’s list of 50 specialties based on input from the Colorado Bar Association, attorneys, and area law firms.

I’ve heard the list is rigged—that only lawyers who advertise with you make it. Is that the case?

Nope. The Top Lawyers list is unaffected by which attorneys advertise with 5280. Local attorneys sometimes choose to advertise after they have been selected for the list, but how much, if, or when lawyers choose to advertise is not taken into consideration.

Does 5280 check out every attorney on the list?

Our fact-checking department independently verifies every lawyer’s pertinent information (name, phone number, office address, website, etc.). We take the added step of sending the list to the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel to check for disciplinary and licensing issues—meaning all attorneys on the list are currently in good standing with the state.

Patrick Casey

Bradley N. Shefrin

Denver 80202 303-292-1200 foxrothschild.com

Greenwood Village 80111 303-773-3500 hallboothsmith.com

FOX ROTHSCHILD 1 225 17th St., Suite 2200

HALL BOOTH SMITH 445 DTC Parkway, Suite 900 5

Duncan Griffiths

Heidi E. Storz

Lone Tree 80124 303-858-8090 griffithslawpc.com

Broomfield 80021 720-898-9680 kerranestorz.com

GRIFFITHS LAW 1 0457 Park Meadows Drive

KERRANE STORZ 70 Interlocken Blvd., Suite 630 3

Jeffrey P. Kerrane

Kate Strauss

Broomfield 80021 720-898-9680 kerranestorz.com

Lakewood 80228 303-261-8191 galvanize.law

KERRANE STORZ 70 Interlocken Blvd., Suite 630 3

GALVANIZE LAW GROUP 90 Union Blvd., Suite 200 3

Michael Lowder

Ryan Thompson

Broomfield 80021 720-898-9680 kerranestorz.com

Denver 80202 303-955-6185 allen-curry.com

KERRANE STORZ 70 Interlocken Blvd., Suite 630 3

Mark W. Nelson

NELSON LAW FIRM 1740 N. High St.

Denver 80218 303-861-0750 nelsonlawfirm.net

Craig S. Nuss

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

ALLEN & CURRY 1 999 Broadway, Suite 1425

CRIMINAL Lara M. Baker

FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER 360 S. Garfield St., Suite 600

Denver 80209 303-333-9810 fostergraham.com

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

David Beller

Mari K. Perczak

Denver 80202 303-573-1900 rklawpc.com

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

Ivan A. Sarkissian

MCCONAUGHY & SARKISSIAN 725 S. Monaco St., Suite 200 4

Denver 80237 303-649-0999 mslawpc.com

RECHT KORNFELD 1 600 Stout St., Suite 1400

Iris Eytan

EYTAN LAW 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 108

Denver 80205 720-440-8155 eytanlawfirm.com

RIDLEY MCGREEVY & WINOCUR 303 16th St., Suite 200

Denver 80202 303-629-9700 ridleylaw.com

Andrew Ho

RECHT KORNFELD 1 600 Stout St., Suite 1400

Denver 80202 303-573-1900 rklawpc.com

Marci G. LaBranche

STIMSON LABRANCHE HUBBARD 1 652 N. Downing St.

Denver 80218 720-689-8909 slhlegal.com

Laura A. Menninger

HADDON, MORGAN AND FOREMAN 950 17th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-831-7364 hmflaw.com

Dru Nielsen

HADDON, MORGAN AND FOREMAN 950 17th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-831-7364 hmflaw.com

Jeffrey S. Pagliuca

HADDON, MORGAN AND FOREMAN 950 17th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-831-7364 hmflaw.com

Hannah Seigel

PROFF LAW 309 N. Downing St. 3

Denver 80205 303-628-5581 profflaw.com

Kathryn Stimson

STIMSON LABRANCHE HUBBARD

1 652 N. Downing St. Denver 80218 720-689-8909 slhlegal.com

Martin Stuart

MCDERMOTT STUART & WARD 1 40 E. 19th Ave., Suite 300

Denver 80203 303-832-8888 mswdenver.com

Fredric M. Winocur

RIDLEY MCGREEVY & WINOCUR 03 16th St., Suite 200 3

Denver 80202 303-629-9700 ridleylaw.com

DISABILITY Teresa Abbott

LAW OFFICE OF TERESA ABBOTT 13791 E. Rice Place, Suite 209

Aurora 80015 720-334-2864 thabbottlaw.com

William T. Dawson

WILLIAM T. DAWSON 1 575 Race St.

Denver 80206 303-455-0400 williamdawsonlaw.com

Steven R. Earl

APEX DISABILITY LAW 121 S. Oneida St., Suite 150 2

Denver 80224 720-545-1800 apexdisabilitylaw.com

Alonit Katzman

ELLIOTT LAW OFFICES 7 884 Ralston Road

Arvada 80002 303-424-5319 elliottlawoffices.com

Michael S. Krieger

MICHAEL S. KRIEGER 1 65 S. Union Blvd., Suite 310

Lakewood 80228 303-522-2209 thedenverdisabilitylawyer.com

Shawn McDermott

MCDERMOTT LAW 600 Ulster St., Suite 800 4

Denver 80237 303-964-1800 colorado-disability-lawyer.com

James L. Noel

NOEL AND KRIEGER 1 65 S. Union Blvd., Suite 310

Lakewood 80228 303-761-2322 noel.law

Kristina Vasold

WILHITE LAW FIRM 1 600 N. Ogden St.

Denver 80218 303-551-7701 wilhitelawfirm.com

William Viner

VINER DISABILITY LAW 1 490 Lafayette St., Suite 400

Denver 80218 720-515-9012 denversocialsecuritydisability.com

ELDER Brooke Brestel

BRESTEL LAW 90 Interlocken Crescent, Suite 350 3

Broomfield 80021 303-731-4402 brestellaw.com

Marco Chayet

CHAYET & DANZO 50 S. Cherry St., Suite 710 6

Denver 80246 303-355-8500 coloradoelderlaw.com

Tammy Conover

CONOVER LAW 161 S. Syracuse Way 6

Greenwood Village 80111 303-376-6224 conoverlawllc.com CONTINUED ON PAGE 87

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2024 TOP LAW YER PROFILES 528 0 CO N G R AT U L AT E S T H I S Y E A R ’S TO P L AW Y E R S

INDEX OF PROFILES ALANA M. ANZALONE .....................................63 Personal Injury: Plaintiff

FRAZER-ABEL LAW..........................................68 Elder

LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH...........70 Antitrust

ALVERSON + O’BRIEN, PC ...............................70 Workers’ Compensation: Claimant

GARNETT POWELL MAXIMON BARLOW ..... 72 Civil Litigation

LUCAS “LUKE” RITCHIE ................................... 75 Securities

ANDERSON & JAHDE, PC ................................. 71 Tax: Personal

GRIFFITHS LAW PC ...........................................66 Family Law and Divorce, Construction Defect Litigation

MCCONNELL VAN PELT, LLC .......................... 73 Medical Malpractice: Defense

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH & JARDINE, PC ......................................59 Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Construction Defect Litigation, Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, Workers’ Compensation: Claimant CHAYET & DANZO .............................................60 Elder, Probate Litigation COLORADO ADVOCATES ................................ 72 Government Relations/Contracts/Lobbying COLORADO FAMILY LAW PROJECT .............70 Family Law and Divorce DAVIS & CERIANI, PC.........................................68 Securities DECISIONCRAFT ................................................ 73 Alternative Dispute Resolution FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER ...69 Criminal, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury; Plaintiff, Government Relations/Contracts/Lobbying, Real Estate, Real Estate: Landlord/Tenant FRANCIS OWEN, LLC ........................................ 65 Personal Injury: Plaintiff

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HERNANDEZ & ASSOCIATES, PC ................... 76 Immigration HKM EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEYS LLP ..........64 Labor/Employment: Plaintiff HOGAN OMIDI, PC .............................................62 Family Law and Divorce ICENOGLE SEAVER POGUE PC.......................68 Transportation JERRY R. BOWMAN .......................................... 67 Personal Injury: Plaintiff KEVIN HANNON ................................................. 74 Environmental Law KERRANE STORZ, PC ....................................... 76 Construction Defect Litigation KNUDSON & ASSOCIATES LLC ....................... 73 Immigration LATHROP GPM LLP .......................................... 71 Probate Litigation, Elder THE LAW OFFICE OF NICOAL C. SPERRAZZA ...................................64 Family Law and Divorce

MONCLOVA LAW PC ......................................... 71 Immigration MYRIGHTS IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM ............ 75 Immigration SCOTT L. EVANS ................................................ 75 Alternative Dispute Resolution SHARUZI LAW GROUP, LTD ............................62 Medical Malpractice: Defense SHERR PUTTMANN AKINS LAMB PC ............66 Family Law and Divorce STEVEN C. CHOQUETTE................................... 72 Alternative Dispute Resolution TARA M. MAGER, ESQ.......................................60 Personal Injury: Plaintiff VARNER FADDIS ELITE LEGAL, LLC.............. 61 Personal Injury: Plaintiff WILLOUGHBY & ASSOCIATES ........................ 74 Family Law and Divorce WOODY LAW FIRM ............................................ 74 Family Law and Divorce

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MICHAEL S. BURG

SCOTT J. ELDREDGE 2024 TOP LAWYER • 7X WINNER

2024 TOP LAWYER • 9X WINNER

Founding Shareholder

Shareholder

Shareholder

2024 TOP LAWYER • 10X WINNER

MARI K. PERCZAK

STEPHAN J. MARSH 2024 TOP LAWYER • 5X WINNER

2024 TOP LAWYER • 9X WINNER

2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER

Shareholder

Shareholder

Shareholder

Shareholder

2024 TOP LAWYER • 10X WINNER

FIRM BACKGROUND | Michael S. Burg established the firm in 1976 and was joined by Peter Burg, Alan Simpson, Scott Eldredge, David Hersh, and Kerry Jardine to build one of the top trial firms in the nation with over 60 Lawyers.

MISSION | To be Good Lawyers. Changing Lives®. It’s not just a slogan, it’s who we are.

PASSION | We want to change peoples’ lives for the better by fighting for them in court and securing fair compensation.

ADVERSARIES | Anyone who injures or attempts to take advantage of our clients.

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS | Norfolk Southern Train Derailment, East Palestine, OH, YAZ®/Yasmin®, Pradaxa®, Ortho Evra®, Gadolinium-based contrast agents, Heparin®, DePuy ASR®, Bextra®/Celebrex®, Zyprexa®, Testosterone Replacement Therapy, Lawrence/Andover, Massachusetts Gas Explosion Cases.

CRAIG S. NUSS

DAVID P. HERSH

NICK D. FOGEL

CIVI L LITIGATION, COM M E RCIAL LITIGATION, CONSTRUCTION DE F ECT LITIGATION, M E DICAL MALPR ACTICE: PLAI NTI F F, WORKE RS’ COM PE NSATION: CLAI MANT

Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, PC

ACCOLADES | 19 Super Lawyers® 2024; 31 Best Lawyers® in America 2024; #1 National Products Liability Firm—Martindale Hubbell; #1 Product Liability, Mass Tort, and Class Action Plaintiffs in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation—The U.S. Legal 500; Top 25 Most Influential Law Firms—The National Trial Lawyers.

COLORADO • ARIZONA • OHIO • WYOMING NEW MEXICO • FLORIDA • NEVADA

RESULTS | $2 Billion+ Settlements/Judgments/Verdicts; 200+ recoveries in excess of $1 Million.

For a Free consultation call: (303) 792-5595 | burgsimpson.com JA NUA RY 2024 • 5280.COM

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E LDE R, PROBATE LITIGATION

Chayet & Danzo

MARCO CHAYET 2024 TOP LAWYER • 10X WINNER TAMARA TRUJILLO 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER For the past 20 years, Chayet & Danzo, LLC has focused our practice on the needs of families, the elderly, and at-risk members of the Denver metro area and throughout the state of Colorado. Our team of attorneys and staff are dedicated to providing the highest quality legal services in a cost-effective and personal manner for every elder law issue, estate plan and probate litigation case.

Mr. Chayet is the founder and managing partner of Chayet & Danzo LLC and ColoradoElderLaw.com. He is the Public Administrator for the 18th Judicial District, and teaches elder law as an Adjunct Professor at the The University of Colorado Law School, where he also received his Juris Doctor. Mr. Chayet is awarded as a Top Attorney in both Elder law and Probate litigation.

Senior Attorney Tamara Trujillo joined the firm in 2009. Ms. Trujillo is a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and is a past director of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She is an adjunct professor of elder law at The University of Colorado Law School and is awarded as a Top Elder law Attorney.

COLORADOELDERLAW.COM (303) 355-8550 650 S. Cherry Street, Suite 710 Denver, CO 80246

PE RSONAL I NJU RY: PLAI NTI F F

Tara M. Mager, Esq. 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER

Tara Mager’s passion is advocating for and seeking justice on behalf of her clients. Her practice focuses on personal injury, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, amusement park accidents, insurance bad faith, and wrongful death cases. She has spent most of her life working with injured victims and knows firsthand how injuries change lives. Tara takes pride in providing personalized, compassionate, and aggressive representation to every client.

Supporting the community and advocating for children has always been close to Tara’s heart. She works closely with the Yellow Brick Road Project, The Colorado Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, and Make-A-Wish Colorado. Tara is a current member of the Wishmakers Council and the Co-Chair of the Annual Make-A-Wish Holiday Wish Store at Children’s Hospital.

This is the second year Tara has been recognized as a 5280 Top Lawyer. She has been recognized as a National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, as a Rising Star in Personal Injury Law by the American Institute of Legal Advocates, one of the Top 40 Young Lawyers by the National Alliance of Women in the Law, as a Lawyer of Distinction in the field of Personal Injury, and as a Super Lawyers Rising Star since 2019. In 2023, Mager Law Group was recognized as one of the Best Law Firms in America by the National Institute of Trial Lawyers.

MAGERLAW.COM | (303) 569-4200 1290 Broadway, Suite 600, Denver, CO 80203 LP-60

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PE RSONAL I NJU RY: PLAI NTI F F

Varner Faddis Elite Legal, LLC

LAUREN E. VARNER, ESQ. 2024 TOP LAWYER • 3X WINNER

A NEW KIND OF INJURY LAW FIRM Lauren specializes in plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful death. She is proudly living her destiny fighting for the legal and moral rights of those whose bodies have been violated and lives profoundly changed at the carelessness of another. Her work includes protecting clients from being kicked when they’re down by the insurance companies, holding those companies accountable to their promises, and empowering clients to persevere in spite of the relentless underhanded insurance defense tactics.

With family in the medical field, Lauren grew up witnessing the devastation that injury can bring to a person’s life. This background not only motivates her today, but has also afforded her a deep interest in, and understanding of, the medical issues her clients face every day, enabling her to go toe-to-toe with many of the insurance defense team’s best medical experts.

Lauren regularly achieves six and seven figure resolutions on behalf of clients.

Her boutique law firm offers white-glove, luxury legal services, often for less than the larger law firms in town. This elevated approach to injury law, and the firm’s commitment to integrity, have resulted in countless five-star client reviews across many platforms.

Lauren has most notably received this 5280 Top Lawyer designation two years in a row, has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star annually since 2019, and was chosen as one of Law Week Colorado’s Top Women in 2019. Lauren has dedicated her time as a board member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers’ Association, chair of the Women Trial Lawyers’ Network, and mentor to DU law students.

VARNERFADDIS.COM 6025 South Quebec Street Suite 100 Centennial, CO 80111 (720) 770-8335

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FAM I LY LAW AN D DIVORCE

Hogan Omidi, PC KATHLEEN HOGAN 6X WINNER HALLEH OMIDI 2024 TOP LAWYER • 3X WINNER

Kathleen “Kathy” Hogan wrote the book on family law in Colorado.

She devotes her practice primarily to complex financial cases, parental responsibilities, and child custody related issues. Other areas of expertise include prenuptial agreements and appeals in all areas of family law.

Halleh Omidi counsels clients on all the various aspects of dissolution of marriage cases, including complex asset division, allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, maintenance, paternity, post-decree modifications, prenuptial agreements, and appeals. She is experienced in litigation; however, when litigation is not required, Halleh negotiates with opposing counsel/opposing parties, for an optimal outcome.

Their firm handles cases throughout the state of Colorado.

HOGANOMIDI.COM (303) 691-9600 3773 Cherry Creek North Drive Suite 950 Denver, CO 80209

M E DICAL MALPR ACTICE: DE F E NSE

Sharuzi Law Group, Ltd.

JACQUELINE B. SHARUZI 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER

The John Marshall Law School – Chicago, IL – JD 1998; Top 40 Under 40; SuperLawyer ®, IL and CO, 2013-2024; American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Member “ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE TO INTIMIDATE” Ms. Sharuzi honed her courtroom skills in Chicago, leading complex, high profile trials. In 2017, she moved to Colorado, where she eventually built her namesake firm from the ground up. A testament to her intellect, legal prowess, and ease with the complexities of medicine, 100% of her clients continued to trust Ms. Sharuzi with their business and representation at Sharuzi Law Group, Ltd. Ms. Sharuzi exemplifies what every medical professional desires in an advocate. With steely focus, she learns the medicine in her cases, and with aggressive precision, she presents innovative and tenacious defenses that deliver optimal results.

SHARUZILAW.COM (303) 226.0331 555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 975 Denver CO 80202 LP-62

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Who I Am: I am Alana Anzalone, and I opened the Colorado Branch of Anzalone Law Offices in 2013 - a firm rooted in balancing compassion for my injured clients and the fierce and relentless fight for justice. I am passionate about understanding what really matters when representing victims of someone else’s wrongdoing. I believe that, without a connection, it is impossible to truly advocate for my clients. Connection allows me to tell their real story and their experiences to an insurance company or a jury. The relationship is a true partnership and something to fight for.

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PE RSONAL I NJU RY: PLAI NTI F F

Alana M. Anzalone 2024 TOP LAWYER • 5X WINNER

A True Trial Lawyer: I have a proven track record of obtaining successful results for my clients. I am not afraid to take a case to trial - in front of a jury - to obtain true justice and a full, uncompromised reward for my clients. I recently obtained one of the top verdicts in Colorado in a personal injury trial. I have been a Colorado Super Lawyers Rising Star since 2017, a Colorado Super Lawyer for 2023, a Top 40 under 40 National Trial Lawyer since 2016, and a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

What Being a Lawyer Means to Me: “To me, being a lawyer means being a counselor, providing a shoulder to cry on, providing a resource of information, and being the voice for injured victims who get taken advantage of by big corporations. When I get a verdict in favor of a client, I get this incredible feeling that I potentially made their lives a little easier - and that’s the best feeling.”

What I Do: I represent clients injured because of car and truck crashes, hazardous conditions on someone else’s property, medical negligence, dog bites, nursing home abuse and sexual abuse and assault.

ANZALONELAWCOLORADO.COM (877) 256-6933 2727 Bryant Street, Suite 102 Denver, CO 80211 JA NUA RY 2024 • 5280.COM

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LABOR /E M PLOYM E NT: PLAI NTI F F

HKM Employment Attorneys LLP CLAIRE HUNTER 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER

Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington; Doctor of Law (J.D., 2007) with honors; Michigan State University – James Madison College (B.A., Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy, 2004) with honors; Bar Fellows Member; Aisenberg Society Pledge; National Employment Lawyers Association Annual Convention Committee Member Claire Hunter is a first generation lawyer and the Managing Partner of HKM Employment Attorneys (Denver). She hails from a long legacy of people who understand hard work. Ms. Hunter grew up attending United Auto Workers meetings with her father and listening to her mother discuss teachers’ union contracts. Fairness, compromise, and loyalty were frequent themes around the dinner table. Her practice is fueled by her life experiences and is laser focused on employee rights, preserving dignity in the workplace, and helping workers reclaim their identity and wages. HKM’s Denver office is comprised of social justice warriors who have devoted their careers to correcting discrimination and illegal acts at work.

HKM.COM/DENVER | (720) 222-3100 518 17th Street, Suite 1100 Denver, CO 80202

FAM I LY LAW AN D DIVORCE

The Law Office of Nicoal C. Sperrazza

NICOAL SPERRAZZA 2024 TOP LAWYER • 4X WINNER MEGAN CRONIN 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER We are proud to announce that both of our attorneys have been selected as 5280 Top Lawyers!

Nicoal C. Sperrazza is a passionate advocate and has a reputation for providing personalized counsel to her clients. Ms. Sperrazza is well-versed in managing high-asset, complex, and contentious matters. In addition to her practice, she serves as President of the Denver Bar Association.

Megan M. Cronin receives this honor due to her work with the Rocky Mountain Veterans Advocacy Project and provides a unique skill set to assist with divorces involving active, retired, and reserved military members. Ms. Cronin’s practice area also includes estate planning.

DENFAMILYLEGAL.COM (303) 481-6360 1720 South Bellaire Street, Suite 406 Denver, CO 80222 LP-64

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PE RSONAL I NJU RY: PLAI NTI F F

Francis Owen, LLC

AMANDA FRANCIS OWEN 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER

Amanda Francis Owen represents clients in sex assault, wrongful death, civil rights, and those with disabilities in tort cases.

Amanda started Francis Owen LLC with her husband, Shawn Owen, offering a boutique experience to select clients. “We choose a small number of deserving clients who need our help when being bullied by insurance companies. We’re radically honest, we’re ready for trial, and we’re all in on our clients.

We’re here to help them recover—to regain what’s been lost or stolen because of the negligence of another.”

Amanda believes that health and bodily integrity—your right to have agency over choices concerning your own body—are priceless assets. There is no fair market value for your ability to walk, work, think, or live as you choose. When your health and bodily integrity are compromised through no fault of your own, an insurance company can’t be trusted to value it fairly. Amanda is honored to advocate for a just result and empathetically support her clients while doing so.

Amanda received the New Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. In one nomination, a colleague said: “Amanda embodies the courage and perseverance of a trial lawyer better than anyone else I know. She never shies away from trial and is always employing new and creative trial tactics.”

Amanda is a dedicated advocate and teaches lawyers throughout the country how to better represent clients. She is a board member for the Civil Rights Education & Enforcement Center and the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association.

She is a frequent speaker and teacher at educational seminars for the American Association of Justice, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, and the Women’s Trial Lawyer Network. She is recognized by the Million Dollar Advocate Forum, National Brain Injury Trial Lawyers Association—Top 25, The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 for Personal Injury, has a 10 out of 10 Avvo Rating, and is a graduate of the Trial Lawyers College.

3200 Cherry Creek South Drive, Suite 520 Denver, Colorado 80209 (303) 228-1010 FRANCISOWEN.LAW JA NUA RY 2024 • 5280.COM

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FAM I LY LAW AN D DIVORCE CONSTRUCTION DE F ECT LITIGATION

Griffiths Law PC

SUZANNE GRIFFITHS 2024 TOP LAWYER • 9X WINNER DUNCAN GRIFFITHS 2024 TOP LAWYER • 3X WINNER Griffiths Law’s 5280 Top Lawyers, Suzanne Griffiths and Duncan Griffiths, are part of our unrivaled team of attorneys.

Griffiths Law is the right choice for Colorado family law and civil litigation cases. Ranging from the straightforward to the highly complex, Griffiths Law always provides a well-prepared case.

We litigate. We collaborate. We protect your future.

Family Law and Civil Litigation

GRIFFITHSLAWPC.COM (303) 858-8090 10457 Park Meadows Drive Lone Tree, CO 80124

FAM I LY LAW AN D DIVORCE

Sherr Puttmann Akins Lamb PC

MEGAN M. SHERR 2024 TOP LAWYER • 9X WINNER DAVID A. LAMB 2024 TOP LAWYER • 6X WINNER Sherr Puttmann Akins Lamb is a full-service family law firm specializing in divorce, legal separation, child custody, juvenile law, and many other areas of family law.

Megan M. Sherr is a founding shareholder and CEO of Sherr Puttmann Akins Lamb PC. Megan has an extensive background in family law and vast legal experience successfully litigating and negotiating all types of family law cases, with an emphasis on legally complex and high asset cases. Megan’s drive, work ethic, tenacity, and compassion have earned her high marks from her clients and peers.

David A. Lamb is a founding shareholder and CTO of Sherr Puttmann Akins Lamb PC, and a seasoned family law and trial attorney.

David’s practice includes divorce, custody disputes, and post-decree litigation. He has been on the faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and the Colorado Family Law Institute, and assists families as a mediator, PC/DM, and arbitrator.

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(303) 741-5300 info@spalfamilylaw.com 7979 E. Tufts Avenue Suite 1650 Denver, CO 80234

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

TOP L AW Y ER PROFIL E S 2 024

PE RSONAL I NJU RY: PLAI NTI F F

Jerry R. Bowman 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER

In the landscape of personal injury law, Jerry Bowman stands out as a beacon of integrity, passion, and unwavering commitment to justice.

For the second consecutive year, Jerry has been named a Top Lawyer in Denver, not just for his legal acumen but for his tireless dedication to being the voice for those who need it most.

Jerry understands his clients are not just seeking financial compensation following an accident; they are seeking closure and a sense of justice that can only be achieved through compassionate and zealous advocacy.

Jerry’s commitment to his clients has not gone unnoticed in the legal community. In 2021, for example, he was the recipient of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association’s New Trial Lawyer of the Year award, a testament to his exceptional courtroom skills and dedication to his clients’ causes.

Additionally, after being recognized as one of the top 40 lawyers under 40 for several years in a row, Jerry was recently named a Super Lawyer for the first time in his career. This is an incredibly selective process that helps solidify his standing as one of the top lawyers in the legal community. Jerry’s dedication to pro bono legal work has also earned him recognition from the Colorado Supreme Court, highlighting his commitment to making justice accessible to all.

Jerry is incredibly proud of the successes he has had. His law firm, Bowman Law, stands as a testament to his commitment to excellence. Bowman Law holds the distinction of being the only law firm in Colorado with all 5-star reviews, a clear reflection of the satisfaction and gratitude of the clients he serves. With a trail of accolades and commitment to justice, Jerry’s impact reaches far beyond the courtroom, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of the people he serves. Jerry is honored to be named as one of the top lawyers in Denver for the second year in a row.

2727 Bryant Street, Suite 102 Denver, CO 80211 (720) 863-6904 info@copihelp.com COLORADOPERSONALINJURYHELP.COM JA NUA RY 2024 • 5280.COM

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SECU RITI E S

Davis & Ceriani, P.C. VALERI PAPPAS 2024 TOP LAWYER • 4X WINNER

Valeri Pappas’s litigation experience includes participating in all phases of multimillion-dollar litigation, jury trials and arbitrations.

Valeri’s securities experience is primarily in representing aggrieved institutional and individual investors in securities fraud actions.

Her practice areas also include employment matters, commercial litigation and general civil litigation.

DAVISANDCERIANI.COM (303) 534-9000 1600 Stout Street Suite 1710 Denver, CO 80202

TR ANSPORTATION

Icenogle Seaver Pogue, P.C.

TAMARA K. SEAVER 2024 TOP LAWYER • 3X WINNER SHANNON JOHNSON 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER Tamara and Shannon advise all of Colorado’s public highway authorities regarding financing, construction, maintenance, and operation of highways and associated public infrastructure. They also counsel clients regarding innovative finance, governance, and construction strategies supporting public transportation infrastructure, including regional governmental authorities and public-private partnerships.

ISP-LAW.COM | (303) 292-9100 4725 South Monaco Street, Suite 360 Denver, CO 80237

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Frazer-Abel Law VIRGINIA FRAZER-ABEL 2024 TOP LAWYER • 5X WINNER

Counsel at Frazer-Abel Law specialize in elder law, probate administration and litigation, guardianships and conservatorships, estate and special needs planning, public benefits, settlement planning and fiduciary work. Attorneys Virginia Frazer-Abel, Eric Kelly, Geoffrey Carpenter, and Kailie Wilson are committed to providing clients with the highest level of legal representation and oversee legal needs with honesty and integrity.

VFALEGAL.COM (720) 638-1465 4704 Harlan Street, Suite 250 Denver, CO 80212 LP-68

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TOP L AW Y ER PROFIL E S 2 024 CRIMINAL; CIVIL LITIGATION; PERSONAL INJURY: PLAINTIFF; GOVERNMENT RELATIONS/CONTRACTS/LOBBYING; REAL ESTATE; REAL ESTATE: LANDLORD/TENANT

Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher

Areas of Practice • Auto Accident / Personal Injury Law • Appellate • Estate Planning / Tax Planning • Criminal Defense • Land Use and Real Estate • Employment Law • Law Enforcement Representation • Litigation • Business / Corporate / Finance / Mergers & Acquisitions • Government Investigations & White Collar Defense

,

FOSTERGRAHAM.COM (303) 333-9810 360 S. Garfield Street Suite 600 Denver, CO 80209

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Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP is a team of dedicated, local attorneys who work collaboratively with our clients to ensure the highest levels of success, professionalism, and advocacy across a comprehensive field of legal disciplines.

LARA BAKER 2024 TOP LAWYER • 7X WINNER DANIEL CALISHER 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER DANNY FOSTER 2024 TOP LAWYER • 4X WINNER DAVID FOSTER 2024 TOP LAWYER • 6X WINNER BOB GRAHAM 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER LARRY KATZ 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER MICHAEL MILSTEIN 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER

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WORKE RS’ COM PE NSATION: CLAI MANT

Alverson + O’Brien, PC ERIKA ALVERSON 2024 TOP LAWYER • 3X WINNER MATT O’BRIEN 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER

Alverson + O’Brien specializes in representing injured workers in workers’ compensation claims. Our attorneys pride themselves on dedication as they pursue each claim with integrity and zeal. With numerous industry awards and recognitions, Alverson + O’Brien continues to excel at representing injured workers.

ALVERSONOBRIEN.COM (720) 649-5568 1888 Sherman Street, Suite 403 Denver, CO 80203

ANTITRUST

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith

TODD R. SEELMAN 2024 TOP LAWYER • 10X WINNER Todd has more than 30 years of experience representing corporate clients as an advisor and in litigation involving antitrust and competition, securities and financial fraud, and related complex commercial matters. Todd has extensive experience in class actions and multi-district litigation. He is also the national chair of the firm’s Antitrust Group.

LEWISBRISBOIS.COM Todd.Seelman@lewisbrisbois.com (720) 292-2002

FAM I LY LAW AN D DIVORCE

Colorado Family Law Project

MAHA KAMAL 2024 TOP LAWYER • 4X WINNER Maha Kamal, Esq. founded the Colorado Family Law Project in 2016.

She is one of the few family law attorneys in the Denver metro area who provides sliding scale and unbundled legal services to clients in divorce, custody, and mediation.

She is fluent in Spanish, Hindi, and Urdu. Aside from law, Ms. Kamal is writing a collection of South Asian ghost stories and is an avid artist.

COLORADOFAMILYLAWPROJECT.COM (720) 224-3010 1627 Vine Street, Denver, CO 80206 LP-70

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TOP L AW Y ER PROFIL E S 2 024 I M M IGR ATION

Monclova Law P.C. MARIA GUADALUPE MONCLOVA 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER

Maria has been practicing law for 15 years and is the founder of Monclova Law P.C. As a young girl she dreamed of becoming an immigration attorney to ensure that immigrants have equal access to the judicial system. Maria gets to know her clients on a personal level and becomes clients’ lawyer, friend, and therapist. Through the years, Maria has been able to stop many deportations and keep families together. Maria specializes in deportation defense, family immigration, and humanitarian visas for victims of crime and persecution.

ABOGADAMONCLOVA.COM | (303) 974-5049 1745 S. Federal Boulevard, Denver, CO 80219 @abogadamonclova

PROBATE LITIGATION, E LDE R

Lathrop GPM LLP

ALISON ZINN 2024 TOP LAWYER • 9X WINNER TOM RODRIGUEZ 2024 TOP LAWYER • 9X WINNER Alison and Tom help clients resolve situations involving trusts, estates, and protected proceedings, including disputes concerning wills, trusts, probate fiduciaries, beneficiaries, guardianships and conservatorships.

LATHROPGPM.COM (720) 931-3200 675 15th Street Suite 2650 Denver, CO 80202

TA X: PE RSONAL

Anderson & Jahde, P.C.

BRIAN HUEBSCH 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER Congratulations to our fine partner, Brian Huebsch, for being named a Top Lawyer! Brian’s contributions to the practice of law and his high standards in serving clients is a model for excellence. Named to Best Lawyers in America and a Colorado Super Lawyer, Brian is among the top lawyers in the region specializing in civil and criminal tax controversies and accountant liability. Way to go, Brian!

ANDERSONJAHDE.COM (303) 782-0003 4582 South Ulster Street, Suite 1350 Denver, CO 80237 JA NUA RY 2024 • 5280.COM

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GOVE RNME NT RE LATIONS/CONTRACTS/LOBBYING

Colorado Advocates JEP SEMAN 2024 TOP LAWYER • 4X WINNER

For 30 years, Colorado Advocates has formulated winning advocacy strategies to help our clients successfully navigate the intersection of Colorado law, regulation, legislation, and politics. Thank you, 5280, and congratulations to fellow 2024 Top Lawyers!

COLORADOADVOCATES.COM (720) 377-0703 23 S. Kalamath Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80223 jseman@coloradoadvocates.com

CIVI L LITIGATION

Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow

HUBERT A. FARBES, JR. 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER Hubert Farbes is a leader in construction, regulatory, and natural resource regulatory matters with forty years of handling the region’s most complicated infrastructure issues and disputes. He is an accomplished construction/commercial development litigator who understands all sides of complex projects and effectively collaborates with his talented team to resolve difficult disputes.

GARNETTLEGALGROUP.COM (303) 991-3344 1512 Larimer Street, Suite 950 Denver, CO 80202

ALTE RNATIVE DISPUTE RE SOLUTION

Steven C. Choquette 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER

Colorado Super Lawyers® 2006-Present; Best Lawyers® 2014-Present; National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals; Mediation Association of Colorado; Colgate University; Denver University, Sturm College of Law. Steven C. Choquette, Esq., a mediator and arbitrator with JAMS Denver, is passionate about helping parties and advocates resolve disputes fairly, respectfully, and economically. His specialties include construction, insurance, landlord-tenant, and B2B disputes, and business dissolutions.

JAMSDENVER.COM | (303) 534-1254 410 17th Street, Suite 2440 Denver, CO 80202 LP-72

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TOP L AW Y ER PROFIL E S 2 024 M E DICAL MALPR ACTICE: DE F E NSE

McConnell Van Pelt, LLC

TRACI VAN PELT 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER Traci Van Pelt has a passion for defending professionals. A founding member of McConnell Van Pelt, LLC she brings dedication and experience to every case. With a focus on healthcare and legal professionals, she navigates the complexities of malpractice matters while providing support and counsel.

MVP-LEGAL.COM (303) 480-0400 4700 South Syracuse Street Suite 200 Denver, CO 80237

I M M IGR ATION

Knudson & Associates LLC KRISTIN KNUDSON 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER Kristin Knudson founded the Denver immigration law firm Knudson & Associates in 2013. The firm’s attorneys have expertise across all areas of immigration law and provide personalized, compassionate service for complex business and family visas and removal defense cases.

KNUDSONANDASSOCIATES.COM (303) 974-7758 550 S. Wadsworth Boulevard, Suite 302 Lakewood, CO 80226

ALTE RNATIVE DISPUTE RE SOLUTION

Decisioncraft

REBECCA KOURLIS 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER Rebecca Kourlis, a former member of the Colorado Supreme Court, is now a neutral at the ADR firm Decisioncraft with partners Jim Lyons and Stacy Guillon. Decisioncraft offers commercial case mediation and arbitration with a commitment to efficiency, hightouch service, and deep engagement.

DECISIONCRAFTADR.COM (720) 689-1021 4348 Woodlands Boulevard Castle Rock, CO 80104 JA NUA RY 2024 • 5280.COM

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FAM I LY AN D DIVORCE

Willoughby & Associates

KIM WILLOUGHBY 2024 TOP LAWYER • 7X WINNER Kim’s practice is devoted to matrimonial law, estate planning and prenuptial agreements. She is the nation’s only attorney admitted to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She provides representation and expert witness services. Kim founded I Do Prenups, LLC. WILLOUGHBYLAW.COM IDOPRENUPSCO.COM (303) 839-1770 25188 Genesee Trail Road, Suite 150 Golden, Colorado 80401

E NVI RON M E NTAL LAW

Kevin Hannon 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER

Kevin Hannon is a partner at Singleton Schreiber. His national practice includes environmental and toxic torts and class actions. His toxics experience includes individual, mass and class actions working with a wide range of toxins. One of his specialties includes claims for medical monitoring. Kevin is licensed to practice in Colorado, the District of Columbia, Missouri, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. He has extensive experience in successfully litigating environmental and products cases in multiple state and federal courts.

SINGLETONSCHREIBER.COM (720) 704-6028 1641 N. Downing Street Denver, CO 80218

FAM I LY AN D DIVORCE

Woody Law Firm

DANAÉ D. WOODY 2024 TOP LAWYER • 2X WINNER Danaé Woody received her J.D. from the University of Denver (‘12). She focuses her practice on complex as well as Collaborative dissolutions of marriage, parental rights, and appeals. Danaé is a leader in the Denver Bar Association and CBA-CLE and is a founder of the Federal Limited Appearance Program in Colorado.

WOODYLAWLLC.COM (303) 968-1711 140 E. 19th Avenue, Suite 600 Denver, CO 80203 L P - 74

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TOP L AW Y ER PROFIL E S 2 024 SECU RITI E S

Lucas “Luke” Ritchie 2024 TOP LAWYER • 4X WINNER

For nearly twenty years, Luke has focused his litigation and trial practice on complex business and securities disputes, investigations, and enforcement actions involving federal and state securities laws, the False Claims Act, consumer protection laws, and corporate governance and fiduciary laws. His clients include businesses ranging in maturity from development-stage to public and spanning sectors from fintech and traditional financial services to technology and manufacturing, along with their officers, directors, compliance personnel, and board committees, as well as investment advisors, Certified Financial Planners™, and other highly regulated professionals.

WTOTRIAL.COM/LUCAS-T-RITCHIE (303) 244-1958 Ritchie@wtotrial.com

I M M IGR ATION

MyRights Immigration Law Firm 2024 TOP LAWYER • 4X WINNER

MyRights Immigration Law Firm has represented non-citizens in all types of immigration cases for over 10 years. Thousands of clients have obtained lawful status including citizenship, permanent residence, and a variety of other non immigrant visas. MyRights Immigration also continues to defend and protect non-citizens who face removal, successfully defending these cases.

MYRIGHTSIMMIGRATION.COM (303) 495-5121 8205 E. Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80220

ALTE RNATIVE DISPUTE RE SOLUTION

Scott L. Evans 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER

Mr. Evans earned his J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He earned his B.S. from Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Scott Evans, a Shareholder in Buchalter’s Denver office and an American Arbitration Association arbitrator litigates and arbitrates complex trade secrets, employee mobility, white-collar crime, cannabis/hemp, and real estate matters. He also conducts internal fraud and employment investigations, calling on his experience as a federal investigator.

BUCHALTER.COM (303) 253-6742 1624 Market Street, Suite 400 Denver, CO 80202 JA NUA RY 2024 • 5280.COM

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CONSTRUCTION DE F ECT LITIGATION

Kerrane Storz, P.C.

JEFFREY P. KERRANE 2024 TOP LAWYER • 10X WINNER HEIDI E. STORZ 2024 TOP LAWYER • 10X WINNER MICHAEL J. LOWDER 2024 TOP LAWYER • 1X WINNER For over 20 years, the attorneys at Kerrane Storz have represented community associations and other property owners in construction defect lawsuits against builders, developers, and their insurance companies. We advance all costs related to the litigation and handle most cases on a contingency fee basis. We focus on communication, accessibility, transparency, and treating our clients as equal partners.

KERRANESTORZ.COM (720) 898-9680 370 Interlocken Boulevard, Suite 630 Broomfield, CO 80021

I M M IGR ATION

Hernandez & Associates, PC CHRISTINE M. HERNANDEZ 2024 TOP LAWYER • 3X WINNER

As a removal defense attorney and adjunct professor of immigration law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Christine M. Hernández is often the last line of defense in deportation proceedings, fighting for her clients to remain in the U.S. with their families. Christine’s approach to the practice of immigration law is best described as zealous, fearless and creative advocacy.

Hernandez & Associates, P.C. Attorne ys at Law | Abogados

HDEZLAW.COM | (303) 623-1122 1801 York Street, Denver, CO 80206

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Thought Forum Hosted by

Tuesday, February 27 Jake Jabs Event Center 1 4 7 5 L AW R E NC E S T. | DE N V E R , C O 8 0 2 0 2

The 5280 Thought Forum will bring together some of the Centennial State’s top minds for an afternoon of thoughtful conversations about Colorado’s economy. The afternoon will feature three panel discussions—moderated by 5280’s editors—on topics including the biotech industry, the green economy, and the importance of small businesses.

Space is limited, s0 reserve your spot today!

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Dining Guide

PRICE KEY

Average Entrée $ $$ $$$ $$$$

under $15 $16 to $20 $21 to $30 $31 and higher

SYMBOL KEY

Indicates a restaurant featured in 5280 for the first time (though not necessarily a restaurant that has just opened).

Indicates inclusion in 5280’s 2023 list of Denver’s best restaurants. These selections are at the discretion of 5280 editors and are subject to change.

A5 STEAKHOUSE

$$$$

LoDo / Steak House This unfussy chophouse by the team behind Forget Me Not and Tap and Burger features perfectly seared steaks, hearty sides, and draft cocktails. Never pass up the beef tartare katsu sando and the chickpea fries to start your meal. Reservations accepted. 1600 15th St., 303-623-0534. Dinner AFRICAN GRILL & BAR

$$

ANNETTE

$$$

Lakewood / African Explore a bevy of dishes from across Africa at this warm and inviting restaurant run by the Osei-Fordwuo family.

Peanut soups, fried fish, samosas, and jollof rice are just some of the crave-worthy options you’ll order again and again. Reservations accepted.

955 S. Kipling Parkway, Lakewood, 303-9854497. Lunch, Dinner

BLACKBELLY

$$$

Boulder / American Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s carnivore-friendly menu focuses on charcuterie, small plates, and daily butcher specials. Try the koji-cured heritage pork chop. Also check out the adjacent butcher shop and market, which serves breakfast and lunch. Reservations accepted. 1606 Conestoga St., Boulder, 303-247-1000. Dinner THE BRONZE EMPIRE

$$$

Cory-Merrill / Chinese This comfortable restaurant specializes in Chinese hot pot, which features an aromatic, bubbling broth for cooking fresh ingredients right at your table. Reservations accepted. 1591 S. Colorado Blvd., 720-599-8888.

Lunch, Dinner BRUTØ

$$$$

LoDo / International This Michelin-starred restaurant highlights heritage grains and house ferments in its Latin-influenced, omakase-style tasting menu. Tack on the cocktail pairing to make the experience even more special. Reservations accepted. 1801 Blake St., 720-325-2195. Dinner 78

5280 / JANUARY 2024

Permanent Digs

Long Nguyen and Shauna Seaman are on a roll, despite sunsetting their popular Vietnamese-influenced food truck Pho King Rapidos in May so they could reopen the business in LoHi’s Avanti Food & Beverage, where fans can still find foilwrapped pho banh mis and other fast-casual fare. Four months later, the couple debuted Thuy by PKR, an evolution of Pho King Rapidos housed in a sleek Park Hill space shared with Yuan Wonton and Sweets & Sourdough. Head to Thuy for more upscale plates of Nguyen’s fare than what you’ll find at Avanti, such as charred lemongrass pork over lavenderhued noodle salad and a pho-spice-rubbed, smoked short rib (pictured) served with beef broth simmered for 24 hours.

$$

CANTINA LOCA

LoHi / Mexican Chef Dana Rodriguez’s welcoming LoHi taqueria invites diners to connect over plates of tacos, shareable entrées, and drinks infused with the Chihuahua, Mexico–born matriarch’s own line of agave spirits, Doña Loca.

Order the molcajete. Reservations accepted.

2890 Zuni St., 303-284-6738. Dinner

$$$$

CASA BONITA

Lakewood / Mexican Visiting the pink palace wasn’t ever really about the food, but its new menu from chef Dana Rodriguez is a major upgrade. Go for the carnitas tacos and desserts.

Reservations not accepted. 6715 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, 303-232-5115. Lunch, Dinner COMAL HERITAGE FOOD INCUBATOR

tostones and coleslaw. Reservations not accepted. 1950 35th St., 303-292-0770.

Breakfast, Lunch C BURGER

Englewood / American This fast-casual kitchen is the first in Colorado to source 100 percent of its beef from local regenerative farms. Try the classic double cheeseburger with a side of seasoned fries. Reservations not accepted. 20 W. Belleview Ave., Englewood, 720-432-5205.

Lunch, Dinner DAUGHTER THAI KITCHEN & BAR

$

RiNo / International Immigrant and refugee women develop the skills to operate their own food businesses by serving renditions of their family recipes at this indoor-outdoor eatery. Try the pupusas or the plato caribe: fried fish with

$

$$$

LoHi / Thai This date-night-ready Thai restaurant from Ounjit Hardacre serves beautifully plated dishes and inventive cocktails with an elegant ambience to match. The menu features timeless favorites such as pad thai and massaman curry alongside a rotating lineup of rare-in-Denver specialties. Reservations accepted. 1700 Platte St., Suite 140, 720-6674652. Lunch, Dinner

WANT MORE DINING OPTIONS? Visit our online listings at 5280.com/restaurants.

Sarah Banks

Aurora / American James Beard Award–winning chef Caroline Glover’s Annette delivers a lineup of seasonal salads, pastas, wood-fired proteins, and other comforting bites in a modern, inviting space. Don’t skip dessert, particularly if pecan pie is on the menu. Reservations accepted. 2501 Dallas St., Suite 108, Aurora, 720-710-9975. Dinner

DINING GUIDE DRAGONFLY NOODLE

$$

LoDo / Asian This eatery from restaurateur Edwin Zoe serves a multinational variety of bao and noodle dishes. Order any of the slurp-worthy bowls of ramen with house-made noodles. Also try the Boulder location. Reservations not accepted. 1350 16th Street Mall, 720-543-8000.

Lunch, Dinner

$

EARLY BIRD RESTAURANT

Westminster / American This attractive breakfast and lunch spot offers a well-balanced menu and local ingredients. The all-day breakfast menu includes open-faced omelets and French toasts.

Also try the Greenwood Village location. Reservations not accepted. 11940 Bradburn Blvd., Westminster, 303-469-9641. Breakfast, Lunch

EDGEWATER PUBLIC MARKET

$$

Edgewater / International Satisfy your cravings for everything from wild game sandwiches to Ethiopian fare at this eclectic collective of nearly two dozen food stalls and boutiques. Tenants include Konjo Ethiopian, Lucky Bird, Lazo Empanadas, and more. 5505 W. 20th Ave., Edgewater, 720-749-2239. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner FOX AND THE HEN

$$

LoHi / American This sunny brunch eatery brightens up any morning. The animal-style hash brown smothered in American cheese and special sauce (an homage to In-N-Out) is a must-order.

Reservations not accepted. 2257 W. 32nd Ave., 303-862-6795. Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch

FRASCA FOOD AND WINE

$$$$

Boulder / Italian The elegant cuisine always wows at Frasca, an ode to the foods of northeastern Italy from master sommelier Bobby Stuckey and chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson. Splurge on executive chef Ian Palazzola’s nine-course Friulano menu. Reservations accepted. 1738 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-442-6966. Dinner GLO NOODLE HOUSE

$$

West Highland / Asian Blackbelly’s Chris Teigland and Ariana Pope bring Asian fusion fare to West Highland with Glo Noodle House.

Reservations accepted. 4450 W. 38th Ave., Suite 130, 303-993-4180. Dinner

HIRA CAFE & PATISSERIE

$$

KAHLO’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT

$$

LA DIABLA POZOLE Y MEZCAL

$

University / Middle Eastern You can’t beat this spot’s tasty, affordable, and traditional Middle Eastern fare, including gyros, baba ghanoush, and sambusas. Reservations accepted. 1890 E. Evans Ave., 303-777-8828. Lunch, Dinner

$

$$

Ballpark / Mexican This lively eatery from James Beard Award finalist Jose Avila serves up comforting pozole and other traditional Mexican fare at affordable prices. Reservations not accepted. 2233 Larimer St., 720-519-1060.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

Hampden / Indian This spot serves flavorful fare like tandoori chicken. Take advantage of the lunch buffet, and try the cinnamon bread pudding.

Reservations accepted. 8921 E. Hampden Ave., 303-755-4284. Lunch, Dinner

JAMAICAN GRILLE

JERUSALEM RESTAURANT

Westwood / Mexican Enjoy plates of mole and enchiladas verdes, plus a wide menu of juices and smoothies, in a space decorated with the art of Frida Kahlo. Reservations accepted. 3735 Morrison Road, 303-936-0758. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Aurora / Ethiopian Pastry chef-owner Hiwot Solomon pairs her from-scratch desserts and Ethiopian breakfast plates with house-roasted, single-origin coffee at this cheery cafe. Reservations not accepted. 10782 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora, 720-949-1703. Breakfast, Lunch

INDIA’S RESTAURANT

dishes like jerk chicken, fried plantains, and rice and peas. Reservations accepted. 709 W. Eighth Ave., 303-623-0013. Lunch, Dinner

$$

Lincoln Park / Jamaican This family-owned Jamaican restaurant serves classic Caribbean-centric

LUCINA EATERY & BAR

$$$

South Park Hill / Latin American Flavors from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain tantalize at this restaurant. Try the mofongo, a plantain mash with pork belly chicharrón, or the twoperson paella only served on Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations accepted. 2245 Kearney St., Suite 101, 720-814-1053. Dinner

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CAMP GUIDE

Summer at Kent Denver School summer@kentdenver.org kentdenver.org/summer24 With over 100 camps for Arts, Academics, Innovation and Technology, Athletics and our Tiny Farm Day Camp, Summer at Kent Denver offers exciting opportunities for all children ages 4-18.

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5280 / JANUARY 2024

Adventure Quest™ with Renaissance Adventures

Air & Space Summer Camp

Join a mythic quest! Campers read maps, solve mysteries & riddles, overcome dynamic challenges, & battle using foam swords.

Designed to develop teamwork, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, & communication.

Take off for a lot of fun this summer at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Summer Camp!

Your camper will be immersed in a week-long aerospace experience.

Nedra Hall | (303) 360-5360 x125 renaissanceadventures.com | (303) 786-9216 wingsmuseum.org/camp

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Colorado Watersports Summer Camps info@coloradowatersports.com coloradowatersports.com

Our camps include sailing, paddle boarding, kayaking, and more. Campers will get to try a little bit of everything. Our sailing, paddle, and combo camps ensure there is a camp for everyone.

Denver Botanic Gardens botanicgardens.org gardencamp@botanicgardens.org Grow your mind, plant a new friend and dig into nature with camps at Denver Botanic Gardens. Discover the world of plants through art, science, gardening and outdoor exploration.

Dream Big Summer Camps Mary Stein | (303) 377-1805 dreambigdaycamp.com 9 weeks of unforgettable fun! Individual/team sports, performing arts, arts/crafts, special event days, theme days and Olympics. We have a climbing wall, practice yoga and cook while mindful of building character every day.

International School of Denver Summer Programs

(303) 340-3647 | isdenver.org/summer Every week at the International School of Denver, your child will explore the world while moving their body, expanding their mind, developing new skills, and forming new friendships.

Dawson Summer Camps dawsonschool.org/summercamps summercamps@dawsonschool.org

Denver Academy Summer Program (303) 777-5870 x284 denveracademy.org/summer

Week-long day camps for ages 5-15 in Lafayette, CO, June 3 - July 26. M-F 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with lunch provided. More than 100 camps to choose from in sports, art, science & tech, and more, plus cool off in the pool daily!

Experience the Denver Academy difference!

Academic programs for students with varied learning profiles, including those with dyslexia & ADHD. Day camps and recreational classes offered. Grades 1-12. (June 10-July 3)

Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms

Denver Equestrians Horse Camp

botanicgardens.org gardencamp@botanicgardens.org

DERS Summer Horse Camp program offers in-depth education for kids, tweens & teens!

Campers join us for riding lessons each day, hands-on grooming, tacking, unmounted equine education, horse care & horse related art projects.

Join Chatfield Farms for camps where you can dig in the dirt, meet farm animals and connect with nature while learning about the daily rhythms outside of the city.

(303) 973-0077 | denverequestrians.com

We build literacy, writing and math skills, selfesteem, and confidence for students who want or need summer support or have dyslexia. This is a time for them to thrive and learn.

TELL 5280 READERS ABOUT YOUR CAMP!

St. Mary’s Academy

Contact Heather Lowe at 303-468-4585 or heather@5280.com for more information.

Every Child Reading – Super Star Summer Camp Denver/Littleton Lakewood & Vail Locations

EveryChildReading.org | (720) 235-5935

stmarys.academy/summer

Embark on a thrilling summer at St. Mary’s Academy! Choose from full-day Colorado adventures or half-day camps. Dive into sports, arts, academics, and outdoor pursuits for an unforgettable experience!

2024 Januart Camp Guide 81

DINING GUIDE MARIGOLD

$$$

Lyons / European This small, light-filled restaurant serves seasonally driven French- and Italian-influenced fare. The pink-peppercornlaced farinata (chickpea pancake) is a delicious mainstay of the frequently changing menu; the amaro cocktails are also worth exploring. Reservations accepted. 405 Main St., Suite B, Lyons, 303-823-2333. Dinner

$$

MISFIT SNACKBAR

City Park / Contemporary You’ll never be bored by the imaginative, flavor-packed offerings from chef-owner Bo Porytko at this eclectic concept housed inside Middleman cocktail bar. Start with the chips and dip: smashed potatoes with an everchanging house sauce. Reservations not accepted.

3401 E. Colfax Ave., 303-353-4207. Dinner NOISETTE RESTAURANT & BAKERY

$$$

LoHi / French Chefs Tim and Lillian Lu serve elegant renditions of bourgeoisie-style specialties (French home-cooked comforts) in a romantic, light-drenched space. Tear into the perfectly crisp baguette to set the Parisian scene for your dining experience. Reservations accepted. 3254 Navajo St., Suite 100, 720-769-8103. Dinner, Brunch NOLA VOODOO TAVERN AND PERKS

Clayton / Southern New Orleans native and owner Henry Batiste serves his grandmother’s recipes for gumbo, po’ boys, and much more at this Louisiana-inspired spot. Reservations accepted. 3321 Bruce Randolph Ave., 720-3899544. Lunch, Dinner

OSAKA RAMEN

$$

$$

RiNo / Japanese Jeff Osaka’s modern ramen shop features original noodle soups, bento boxes, and creative small plates. Try the mochi doughnuts.

Reservations not accepted. 2611 Walnut St., 303-955-7938. Lunch, Dinner

PALENQUE COCINA Y AGAVERIA

$$

Littleton / Mexican Sip on a wide variety of mezcals and snack on ceviche and flautitas at this neighborhood favorite bar and restaurant. Reservations accepted. 2609 W. Main St., Littleton, 720-928-3318. Lunch, Dinner THE PORCHETTA HOUSE

$

City Park West / Italian The porchetta at this lunch-to-late-night eatery is an expression of both Italian tradition and globally minded creativity. Try the al pastor sandwich loaded with caramelized pineapple pico and Cotija cheese.

Reservations not accepted. 1510 Humboldt St., 303-861-7333. Lunch, Dinner Q HOUSE

City Park / Chinese Enjoy a modern take on Chinese cuisine at this City Park eatery operated by chef Christopher Lin, an alum of Momofuku in New York City. Try the braised pork rice. Reservations accepted. 3421 E. Colfax Ave., 720-729-8887. Dinner

RED TOPS RENDEZVOUS

$$

$$

5280 / JANUARY 2024

$$$$

SAP SUA

SPUNTINO

$$$

$$$$

Highland / Italian Enjoy the eclectic and locally sourced menu at this Italian-inspired, husbandand-wife-owned spot. Go for any of the dishes with Southern Indian influences—a product of chef Cindhura Reddy’s heritage—like malai kofta gnocchi. Reservations accepted. 2639 W. 32nd Ave., 303-433-0949. Dinner STONE CELLAR BISTRO

$$$

Arvada / Contemporary Visit this farm-to-table spot in Olde Town Arvada for beautifully presented dishes made with local produce by chefs Jordan Alley and Brandon Kerr. Don’t miss the foie gras parfait or the hot honey fried chicken. Reservations accepted. 7605 Grandview Ave., Arvada, 720-630-7908. Dinner SULLIVAN SCRAP KITCHEN

$$

$$$

LoDo / European This Union Station restaurant offers warm hospitality, exquisite cuisine, and an extensive wine list, all to the soundtrack of a vinyl-only playlist. Order the duck-liver-stuffed gougères (French cheese puffs) and any of the sweet treats. Reservations accepted. 1803 16th St., 720-738-1803. Dinner THUY BY PKR

$$$

North Park Hill / Vietnamese The team behind Pho King Rapidos elevates its former food truck’s fare in an airy space shared with Yuan Wonton.

Try the chicken wings and any of the noodles.

Reservations accepted. 2878 Fairfax St., 303-320-5642. Dinner Berkeley / American Feast on Indigenous fare such as fry bread tacos made with ingredients sourced from Native producers at this fastcasual spot. The company also has an online marketplace for Native-produced bison and pantry goods. Reservations not accepted. 3536 W. 44th Ave., 720-524-8282. Lunch, Dinner TOFU STORY

Aurora / Korean House-made tofu is the main draw at this airy Korean eatery from chef-restaurateur J.W. Lee. Order the spicy

$

$$

$$$$

Curtis Park / Japanese This bustling eatery from James Beard Award–winning chef Tyson Cole delivers artful and inventive Japanese small plates and sushi made with some of the freshest fish in town. Reservations accepted. 2500 Lawrence St., 303-444-1922. Dinner UNCLE

$$

URBAN VILLAGE GRILL

$$$

Speer / Asian This reliable Pan Asian noodle house from chef-owner Tommy Lee has a revolving menu of steamed buns, small plates, rice and curry bowls, and ramen. Also try the Highland location, which only has walk-in seating. Reservations accepted. 95 S. Pennsylvania St., 720-638-1859. Dinner

Lone Tree / Indian Chef Charles Mani serves classic and modern Indian dishes at this eatery inside Park Meadows Mall. Order the chef’s tasting menu, a multicourse feast featuring Urban cauliflower, butter chicken, and more. Reservations accepted. 8505 Park Meadows Center Drive, Suite 2184A, Lone Tree, 720-536-8565. Lunch, Dinner VOGHERA RISTORANTE & APERICENA

City Park West / Seasonal Chef-owner Terence Rogers uses sustainably sourced ingredients and leftover or unused food items from his catering company, TBD Foods, to produce light and fresh fare at this casual cafe. Reservations accepted.

1740 E. 17th Ave., 720-242-6292. Dinner, Brunch SUNDAY VINYL

seafood soondubu stew featuring silken tofu with the individual-size, pressure-cooked rice. Reservations not accepted. 2060 S. Havana St., Aurora, 303-954-9372. Lunch, Dinner UCHI DENVER

Congress Park / Vietnamese This smart eatery from husband-and-wife duo Ni and Anna Nguyen finds its culinary footing in Vietnamese flavors.

Herbaceous offerings like chrysanthemum green salad and culantro-capped tomato toast are favorites of the menu. Reservations accepted.

2550 E. Colfax Ave., 303-736-2303. Dinner

TOCABE, AN AMERICAN INDIAN EATERY

Jefferson Park / Pizza Detroit-style pizza, which is usually constructed with tomato sauce as the final topping, is the basis of this vibrant eatery’s name and menu. Go for pies like the giardiniera-spiked Italian beef. Reservations accepted. 2917 W. 25th Ave., 303-955-5752. Lunch, Dinner

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SAFTA

RiNo / Mediterranean At Safta, acclaimed chef Alon Shaya and his team serve modern Israeli fare. Crave-worthy specialties include the crispy Persian rice with cherries and sunflower seeds.

Also check out the weekend brunch buffet.

Reservations accepted. 3330 Brighton Blvd., Suite 201, 720-408-2444. Dinner, Brunch

$$$

Berkeley / Italian Enjoy Italian-style tapas such as beef tartare, Burrata, and pancetta-wrapped scallops at this rustic-chic Berkeley restaurant.

Reservations not accepted. 3963 Tennyson St., 303-455-9111. Dinner, Brunch

WHITTIER CAFE

$

XICAMITI LA TAQUERÍA

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Whittier / Cafe This espresso bar, which supports social-justice-related causes, serves coffee, beer, and wine sourced from various African nations and a small menu of pastries, breakfast burritos, panini, and more. Reservations not accepted. 1710 E. 25th Ave., 720-550-7440. Breakfast, Lunch

Golden / Mexican The burritos and tacos at this charming joint are packed with flavor, but also look for lesser-known dishes like the cazuela de huevos (baked eggs). Reservations not accepted.

715 Washington Ave., Golden, 303-215-3436.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

YAHYA’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL & PASTRIES $$

City Park West / Mediterranean This family-run restaurant serves silky hummus, a variety of excellent grilled kebabs, and from-scratch sweets.

Try the beef koobideh. Reservations accepted.

2207 E. Colfax Ave., 720-532-8746. Lunch, Dinner

ZOE MA MA

LoDo / Chinese This cozy counter-service spot offers Chinese home-style cooking. Order the Sichuan braised beef noodle soup. Also try the Boulder location. Reservations not accepted.

1625 Wynkoop St., 303-545-6262. Lunch, Dinner

$

 These listings are in no way related to advertising in 5280. If you find that a restaurant differs significantly from the information in its listing or your favorite restaurant is missing from the Dining Guide, please let us know. Write us at 5280 Publishing, Inc., 1675 Larimer St., Suite 675, Denver, CO 80202 or dining@5280.com.

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T H E M YS T E R I O U S M R. C L A R K

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51

This time, he paid back the full $14,100 he owed to his victims. But Clark was still writing those restitution checks when he began creating trouble on an entirely different continent.

NAIROBI, KENYA • 2015

With the Maasai Mara National Reserve to its west, Lake Nakuru National Park to the north, and Tsavo National Park to its southeast, Nairobi—the capital of Kenya—is famous for being a gateway to safaris. This bustling city of 4.6 million has, over the past decade, become known for something else, too: tech. Dubbed the Silicon Savannah, Nairobi has blossomed into an innovation hub where entrepreneurs such as Martha Chumo could dream big.

In 2013, then 19-year-old Chumo crowdfunded a little more than $15,000 to launch the Dev School, a coding camp that focused on empowering young Kenyans by teaching them computer programming skills. In 2015, after educating 250 students, receiving glowing reviews from graduates, and expanding her school’s courses into South Sudan, Chumo became connected with a programmer in California’s Bay Area who seemed to share her passion for diversifying the tech sphere.

On a popular blog, the man had chronicled his experience applying to different coding schools before learning JavaScript, Fullstack, and Python at a Silicon Valley boot camp called Coding House. Under the Twitter handle @Blackguycoding, he often drew attention to the need to change the notoriously white- and male-dominated culture in the technology sector. Chumo agreed with this idea, and when the man and his family decided to move to Nairobi, she hired him in July 2015 to be the Dev School’s CEO— trusting him to transform her small startup into an internationally renowned institution.

It only took two months for that man, Perrin Clark, to begin undoing much of what Chumo had built. In September, some Dev School employees noticed their latest paychecks hadn’t been deposited. After the nonpayment continued through November, one fed-up employee sent out a companywide email putting the new CEO on notice. That email made its way into the hands of tech journalist Tefo Mohapi. “I can somewhat safely say the above e-mail is the proverbial shit that hit the fan because it all went downhill at ‘lightspeed’ 84

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from there,” wrote Mohapi on the website he founded, iafrikan.com. “It gets worse when you also discover that [Clark] stole money from students who thought they were registering for courses with the Dev School.”

Chumo quickly replaced Clark with an interim CEO. But according to Mohapi, she couldn’t fully extricate Clark from her company because, for months, he disputed accusations of theft and insisted on bringing in mediators, referring to an arbitration clause in his contract. Meanwhile, Clark continued organizing tech events in Kenya, including Nairobi Developer Week.

It wasn’t until Mohapi published his article, titled “An American Criminal, a Dev School and Thousands of Dollars Missing,” in March 2016 that Clark’s reputation in the Silicon Savannah cratered. Nairobi Developer Week was canceled. Chumo’s Dev School never recovered. Her LinkedIn page shows the coding school closed in late 2015, and when I approached her about an interview, she declined, saying, “Having been a victim of his at a young age…I have since done a lot of work to regain the ability to trust.”

COLORADO • SUMMER 2023

It’s unclear when Clark and his family returned to the United States from Kenya, but they were back in the country by April 2017.That’s when Rachel (who declined to comment for this article) initiated divorce proceedings, according to Alameda County court records.

Those weren’t the only court documents I discovered. Paperwork from the Sonoma Sausage case arrived at my Denver home in a thick manila envelope. Much of the information contained on those 55 pages wasn’t particularly illuminating, until I came across a section titled Defendant’s Social History.

“Perrin Clark was born on April 28, 1980, in Las Vegas, Nevada,” it began. Over the next three pages, a narrative emerged about a bright child with a troubled upbringing.

Clark was the second of three boys in a military family that moved constantly. Throughout Clark’s childhood, his father was called on long deployments to the Middle East, during which time his parents often experienced marital stress. Clark coped by becoming independent and staying away from the house whenever his parents fought. Clark was homeschooled, and most of his interaction with peers happened at church. At 18, he refused to move with his parents from Utah to Florida, where Clark said he’d previously experienced extreme racism, and instead settled in Sacramento, near his older brother. It was there that Clark attended seminary school, and it was through a church event that he met Rachel.

Less than a decade later, Perrin Clark had multiple felonies attached to his name. By late 2017, he decided to leave that name behind.

Beginning in December, Clark petitioned the Alameda County court three times to legally change his name. The first two petitions failed.

The third, filed in May 2018, was granted.

That a name change was possible for Clark seemed to strain the limits of credulity. Any court with knowledge of Clark’s past should’ve considered that he might use a new identity to defraud new victims, which is exactly what he was accused of doing shortly thereafter when he founded Bay Area coding outfit Represent Development Agency. The firm, which was supposed to pair developers from underrepresented backgrounds with coding projects, closed in June 2019 amid complaints from contractors that they weren’t being paid.

Not every U.S. state allows an individual with a felony conviction to apply for a legal name change. In Colorado, any felon who petitions for one is immediately denied unless he or she shows good cause. But in California, felony convictions are not necessarily disqualifying. Even so, Arash Hashemi, a Los Angeles–based lawyer whose firm specializes in laws surrounding name changes, says it’s typically challenging for convicted felons to change their legal names in the state. California courts are supposed to run criminal background checks, Hashemi says, which should show whether an applicant is on active probation.

Being on probation is usually an automatic disqualification unless a petitioner’s probation officer supports the name change.

The Alameda County Probation Department confirmed that Clark was indeed on probation at the time of his petition. But office staff said the department had no records indicating it had ever been made aware that Clark had petitioned to change his name. There are no transcripts of the successful name change hearing, and the only justification for the requested change appears on Clark’s initial application: “turn over a new leaf.” Whatever Clark said in court, his words resonated with Judge Frank Roesch (who declined an interview request through a clerk). On August 24, 2018, the court approved case number RG18906392. Perrin Vidal Clark was now Aaron Maxwell Clark.

COLORADO • 2021–’22

Were it not for the novel coronavirus, the April 2021 bill signing would have been conducted in person. Instead, Colorado Governor Jared Polis invited key supporters of the legislation— a bill that would make it easier for former inmates to get firefighting jobs—to appear alongside him on Zoom. Among them was one of the bill’s sponsors, then Colorado

T H E M YS T E R I O U S M R. C L A R K

state Representative Dylan Roberts, who name-checked a nonprofit that had helped him champion the cause. Aaron Clark, the CEO of Justice Reskill, smiled proudly as he watched Polis sign the bill that his fourmonth-old nonprofit had helped get passed.

Clark’s reputation, along with the financial fortunes of Justice Reskill, had been growing in Colorado for months. He was seen at events alongside government officials—including Polis, then Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, and onetime head of the Colorado Department of Corrections Dean Williams—and he was shaking hands with respected grant-makers all over town.

The first notable outlay—a $50,000 grant— had come in early 2021 from Brad Feld, the venture capital kingmaker who’d introduced Clark at the Boulder Chamber awards. No one in Colorado, including Feld (who did not respond to multiple requests for comment), seemed to be aware that Clark had learned computer programming after encountering the criminal justice system himself.

Throughout 2021, additional investments and grants rolled in: a $100,000 grant from the AJL Foundation, $250,000 from the Colorado Trust, and another $368,000 from various other organizations and individuals who donated through the website Open Collective. Another $43,531 grant from Colorado’s Department of Law—taxpayer money awarded through the state’s top investigative body—was approved on paperwork signed by both Clark and Colorado’s chief deputy attorney general, Natalie Hanlon Leh. Inside Justice Reskill, however, a familiar pattern repeated itself: Clark wasn’t paying his employees and contractors. This time, though, the nonpayment of wages had a more dramatic impact. Because some of Clark’s employees had criminal records and had struggled with finding employment, they had little to no savings to fall back on. They lodged a complaint with the Colorado Department of Labor.

Clark hired an attorney named Cynthia Wellbrock to help him settle the wage disputes.

The lawyer initially assumed Clark had simply mismanaged his organization’s finances, but when Clark didn’t pay her, the attorney felt broadsided. “In my 20 years of having my own firm, I have never, ever, ever had a client screw me over for money [like that],” she says. She sued Clark for the roughly $4,000 he owed her, and her case was soon joined on the court docket by the suit from Diverse Talent.

When word of the payment disputes reached Danielle Shoots, she was concerned. When word reached her that Clark had been falsely claiming she was on Justice Reskill’s advisory board to lend credibility to the company, she

was furious. The respected venture capitalist had helped approve Clark’s quarter-milliondollar grant through the Colorado Trust when she’d worked there, and now she was hearing about an increasing number of Black business owners and contractors to whom Clark owed money. Shoots began her own accounting of the money Clark owed various companies and individuals, and once her calculations crossed the half-million-dollar mark, she had no doubt she was looking at the work of a con artist. On December 9, 2021, she sent a searing, 11-paragraph email to Clark—and copied the entire board of Justice Reskill.

“Aaron, it has been brought to my attention in multiple ways the depth of the cons you are currently perpetuating on our community,” Shoots began. “To come into a community, pretend you are pro Black economic equity, and then take advantage of every single person who helped you is unforgivable. To contract with brilliant Black businesses and then not pay them is worse than asking for free labor….

By my estimation…you owe the Denver Black community $500,000.

“The real toll your behavior is going to take is priceless,” she continued. “How dare you pretend to care about justice involved people?

How dare you pretend to care about Black businesses? How dare you sit at the Black leadership table with people who have cried, fought, and hustled to build real businesses and brands with nothing and from nothing…. You frequently talked about letting Black women lead. And even though that was clearly [a] fraudulent narrative you used to gain entry, you weren’t wrong. It’s Black women who will ensure you never do this again.”

Even with Shoots’ email circulating, Clark held on as Justice Reskill’s CEO—until Denver Post reporter Sam Tabachnik learned about the wage theft allegations. Tabachnik (who is a friend of mine) had centered his piece on one Justice Reskill employee who was owed $23,000 in unpaid wages. Soon after the story ran, Clark disappeared. He shut down his social media profiles and stopped participating in the two Colorado civil trials accusing him of nonpayment. Judges in both cases issued default judgments against him.

Getting an accurate account of how much Clark may have stolen is nearly impossible.

Some estimates suggest, however, that he could have left Colorado with hundreds of thousands of dollars in pilfered funds. It’s unlikely that such money would ever be found.

COLORADO • FALL 2023

It’s a well-established fact of criminal justice in America that prosecutors focus far more on violent crimes than they do financial

crimes. This isn’t just true at a local level, where under-resourced district attorneys and police departments may decide undertaking complex financial investigations isn’t worth the effort when there are murders and robberies to solve. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse database from Syracuse University, which has been compiling federal government statistics since 1989, white-collar crime prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice are hovering near a 20-year low, largely due to the FBI shifting its priorities to anti-terrorism efforts after 9/11.

Financial crimes are far from victimless, however, and the damage inflicted by them is often more than monetary, says research presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office out of Alaska. Those who fall prey to financial scams frequently suffer emotional harm from the crimes and often blame themselves for trusting the con artists who charmed them.

Those feelings of shame mean financial crimes are underreported.

Still, the Federal Trade Commission logged 2.4 million fraud reports during 2022—a 30 percent increase over 2021—involving $8.8 billion in illegally siphoned funds. Trying to recover that money can prove arduous. Patrick Gillette, a Denver attorney who practices judgment collection law, says chasing down cash—even after winning a civil court case— can be frustrating and expensive. If the money does exist, including in the form of real estate or bank holdings, it’s up to the creditor, not the court, to locate it. “We got rid of debtor’s prisons a very long time ago,” Gillette says.

“So, if someone doesn’t pay the judgment, you can’t have the court throw them in jail. Your only recourse is to find where their assets are and levy upon them. But it’s so easy to hide assets—it costs almost nothing to register an LLC, which can serve as a shell.”

Clark has at least two LLCs filed in Delaware, even though the corporations don’t name him as the registered agent, but rather a forwarding company that can be used to obscure ownership. Even if a court were to issue a subpoena to Clark’s LLCs for bank or personnel records, the subpoena would be sent to the mailing address of A Registered Agent, Inc.—located next to a home goods store in Dover—and it’s unlikely Clark would ever see the court order.

Some of Clark’s creditors have already tried—and failed—to collect from him. Wellbrock, Clark’s onetime attorney, attempted to collect from one of Clark’s Chase Bank accounts but was told by the bank that the account didn’t exist (likely because Clark closed it). Vance Sharp says he’s still looking for both Clark and his ex-wife with the help of debt J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

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collectors in hopes of recovering what he believes is more than $300,000, after factoring in interest, in outstanding restitution owed.

It’s also unclear if law enforcement is looking for Clark. The Denver Police Department says it has no records that it has ever looked into him. The FBI and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office both say they can’t comment as to whether they have active investigations.

Clark’s biggest legacy in Colorado, however, may not be any money that’s missing but rather the investments that haven’t occurred since Equity Solutions, ECC, and Justice Reskill collapsed. Shoots, who now runs a venture capital firm focused on business owners of color, says that much of what she warned about in her email happened. Clark benefitted from a snowball effect in investments—and a lack of vetting—once powerful and well-respected funders began throwing money at him. But now Black entrepreneurs and DEI consultants are struggling to attract the same kind of attention, money, and energy that Clark did with such ease three years ago. “Sure, it’s been a few years since George Floyd and people are easily distracted,” Shoots says, “but Aaron’s a part of it. It does incredible harm when someone takes advantage of getting money.

There’s no way that doesn’t float through the bias machine, making people go, ‘Yup, Black folks can’t have money. You can’t trust them.’ ” What makes Clark even more complicated, adds Regan Byrd, another former ECC consultant from whom Clark temporarily withheld pay, is that he knew how to use his Black identity to provide cover for his deceitful behavior. “People like Clark are so injurious because they know that they can get a certain amount of buy-in with Black community members, but also with a certain kind of well-meaning, progressive white person,” she says. “And I warn white allies about that. Being an ally against racism is not just thumbs-upping and agreeing with whatever a person of color is telling you; you have to use your discernment and critical thinking.”

Byrd says there’s been little to no public discourse among Clark’s funders since he disappeared, as if they’re embarrassed. But Byrd isn’t afraid to continue speaking out about the experience and has pondered what she might say to Clark if she ever sees him again.

“Interestingly enough, I would be willing to approach him with compassion,” Byrd says.

“I would say, ‘To me, your behavior speaks to something deeper. It speaks to a kind of trauma. So what is the reason that you spent your energy on defrauding people rather than your energy on building something when you had all these resources? And what do you need to not do this again?’ ” 86

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The now 36-year-old, independent DEI and anti-oppression consultant wasn’t confident she’d ever get the chance to ask him those questions. I wasn’t convinced I would, either.

COLORADO • OCTOBER 2023

Early on in my reporting, soon after I’d begun asking around about a man named Perrin Clark, I got a call from an unknown number with an Oakland, California, area code. When I listened to the opening seconds of the voicemail, I knew my digging had begun to yield results: “Hi, this is Aaron Clark.”

I dialed back. Clark picked up, although he didn’t plan to answer any questions that day. Instead, he said he’d consider submitting to an interview. We arranged a call in early October, but he stood me up. The following week, however, I finally got Clark on the phone.

The now 43-year-old began by saying he remains proud of his efforts in Colorado. Over the past year, he’s also spent a lot of time— with the aid of therapy, he said—reflecting on personal “shadows” and learning from the past.

He said his ego, along with an unwillingness to delegate authority in areas he’s not skilled in, such as forecasting and budgeting, stymied numerous business ideas and cut short his many altruistic missions. “I’ve learned that I’m really great at starting things and getting [people] excited,” he said, “but I am not an operator and finisher of things.”

I asked him if he understood why others might view him a different way: as a scam artist. “It was never my intent to defraud a single person. Full stop,” Clark replied. “But I do understand the difference between impact and intent…and I will acknowledge completely that there are a lot of people that have been impacted negatively and adversely.”

He explained that his story has been one of repeated mistakes and naiveté, including the crimes he committed—and pleaded no contest to—at the Sonoma Sausage Company. “That case was hard because there was no intent to harm. There was an intent to try to build, and I just was very naive,” he said. “I was unaware in terms of: You can’t use someone’s checkbook or their credit card without their permission, and if they do give you verbal permission, you probably should write it down…and all of those decisions [of mine] became a charge.”

As for the money he raised for Justice Reskill and Equity Solutions in Colorado? It’s all gone, he said: “With Equity Solutions, that was money that was given by organizations or companies that wanted training. And so that money went out to the consultants that were doing the training, for the most part.”

But he added that he would like to pay back

the lawyer, Wellbrock, and Diverse Talent, the two litigants who won default judgments against him in Denver. “And I will welcome any conversation with any person that my decisions and my actions, whether intentional or not, caused impact upon,” he said. “That is probably the least that I could do.”

Clark’s confidence and charisma were on display as he spoke. He never hesitated, never got rattled, even when I brought up allegations like those about the Dev School. He explained away those situations, too, as well-intentioned mistakes. His delivery was convincing.

Former ECC consultant Herrera Moreno mentioned she’d had similar experiences. “His body language was always very comfortable, even [during] conflicts,” she said. “And most, if not all, of the time, the conversations were very unsatisfying. He would either say just enough to make you think, OK, he gets it, or it was him letting you know how much he was carrying and how much he had on his plate.”

Far too often, Herrera Moreno would find herself wondering if Clark had listened to her.

She’d leave the conversations feeling exhausted and disoriented. “It was performative when he would say that he was ‘aware’ or that he ‘would change’ or that ‘next time it’ll be different,’ ” she said, before issuing me a warning. “If you’re trying to understand why he did it, I don’t think that’s going to be a satisfying story to write, because it’s never going to make sense.”

It’s true that many of Clark’s actions defy logic. In key ways, he never fit the mold of a classic con man. Most scam artists make their livings incognito, finding marks and vanishing the moment they cash in. Clark never ducked the spotlight in Colorado; instead, he appeared to seek it in any way he could.

On that last point, things have changed.

Clark refused to answer only one of my questions: He wouldn’t reveal his whereabouts.

He was only willing to say he’s working in sales outside of Colorado. All of his previous businesses’ websites have been taken off the internet, and most of Clark’s social media accounts have been scrubbed, deleted, or made private. The few breadcrumbs I was able to find don’t seem intended for others to find.

But there is one message Clark left that does seem designed for us to see—one that suggests he imagines a return to a time when he enjoyed power, influence, and access to large sums of other people’s money. It’s written on his Instagram profile, which is private but has a public bio line. In mid-2023, the bio line went from blank to conveying a single line of text: “Don’t call it a comeback.” m Chris Walker is 5280’s associate editor. Email feedback to letters@5280.com.

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Errol Brown

Kevin Scott Hannon

Merry H. Balson

Denver 80202 303-382-6230 haynesboone.com

Denver 80218 720-704-6028 singletonschreiber.com

Greenwood Village 80111 720-974-6350 balsonfaix.com

HAYNES BOONE 675 15th St., Suite 2200

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 57

Virginia Frazer-Abel

FRAZER-ABEL LAW 704 Harlan St., Suite 250 4

Denver 80212 720-638-1465 vfalegal.com

Bradley J. Frigon

LAW OFFICES OF BRADLEY J. FRIGON P.O. Box 271621

Littleton 80127 720-200-4025 bjflaw.com

Susie Germany

GERMANY LAW FIRM 00 17th St., Suite 2800 South 6

Denver 80202 303-454-3711 coelderlaw.com

M. Carl Glatstein

GLATSTEIN & O’BRIEN 696 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 350 2

Denver 80222 303-731-3986 denverprobatelaw.com

Katrina S. Jones

KATRINA S. JONES 1 1160 Huron St., Suite 33

Northglenn 80234 303-252-1012 willslawyercolorado.com

Ayo Labode

LAW OFFICE OF AYO LABODE 55 Sherman St., Suite 100 4

Denver 80203 720-295-9509 labodelaw.com

Letitia M. Maxfield

WADE ASH 251 DTC Parkway, Suite 825 5

Greenwood Village 80111 303-322-8943 wadeash.com

Thomas A. Rodriguez

LATHROP GPM 1 515 Wynkoop St., Suite 600

Denver 80202 720-931-3231 lathropgpm.com

Tamara Trujillo

CHAYET & DANZO 50 S. Cherry St., Suite 710 6

Denver 80246 303-355-8500 coloradoelderlaw.com

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS Leigh Augustine

AUGUSTINE SPORTS 994 S. Holly St., Suite 400 5

Greenwood Village 80111 720-432-1069 augustinesports.com

SINGLETON SCHREIBER 1 641 N. Downing St.

BALSON FAIX & MCVEY 041 S. Syracuse Way, Suite 315 6

Matthew Eisler

John R. Jacus

Jessica L. Broderick

Denver 80202 303-454-2437 hoganlovells.com

Denver 80202 303-892-7305 dgslaw.com

Denver 80202 303-299-8446 shermanhoward.com

HOGAN LOVELLS 1 601 Wewatta St., Suite 900

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

Sarah Hartley

Lynn Kornfeld

Laura Dinan

Boulder 80302 303-866-0363 bclplaw.com

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER 1 801 13th St., Suite 300

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Russell Benjamin Hedman

Elizabeth Paranhos

Constance Eyster

Denver 80202 303-454-2465 hoganlovells.com

Boulder 80304 303-880-4285 delonelaw.com

Boulder 80302 303-442-6514 hbcboulder.com

HOGAN LOVELLS 1 601 Wewatta St., Suite 900

DELONE LAW 1 555 Jennine Place

HUTCHINSON BLACK & COOK 21 Walnut St., Suite 200 9

Mark Kurtenbach

Scott H. Reisch

Michelle Rose-Hughes

Denver 80202 303-454-2460 hoganlovells.com

Denver 80202 303-899-7355 hoganlovells.com

Denver 80206 303-243-3100 tuthillhughes.com

HOGAN LOVELLS 1 601 Wewatta St., Suite 900

James D. Leonard

FAEGRE DRINKER 1 144 15th St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-607-3644 faegredrinker.com

Dave Ratner

CREATIVE LAW NETWORK 2701 Lawrence St.

Denver 80205 720-924-6529 creativelawnetwork.com

Craig A. Umbaugh

HOGAN LOVELLS 1 601 Wewatta St., Suite 900

Denver 80202 303-899-7379 hoganlovells.com

Zachary Warkentin WARKENTIN 1244 Corona St.

Denver 80218 720-390-3330 warkentinllc.com

ENVIRONMENTAL Jennifer Biever

WILLIAMS WEESE PEPPLE & FERGUSON 1801 California St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-861-2828 williamsweese.com

Ana Maria Gutiérrez

WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON 1 899 Wynkoop St., Suite 715

Denver 80202 720-983-1340 womblebonddickinson.com/us

HOGAN LOVELLS 1 601 Wewatta St., Suite 900

Carlos R. Romo

WILLIAMS WEESE PEPPLE & FERGUSON 1801 California St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-861-2828 williamsweese.com

Andrew Spielman

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1250 bhfs.com

Elizabeth “Betsy” H. Temkin DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-892-7222 dgslaw.com

Eric Waeckerlin

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1290 bhfs.com

ESTATE PLANNING Michelle Adams

LAW OFFICE OF MICHELLE ADAMS 373 Central Park Blvd., Suite 100 2

Denver 80238 720-432-9685 coloradofamilylegacy.com

Desta Asfaw

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

TUTHILL & HUGHES 5 Madison St., Suite 555 5

Bridget Sullivan

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

Denver 80202 303-299-8130 shermanhoward.com

Stephanie Tuthill

TUTHILL & HUGHES 5 Madison St., Suite 555 5

Denver 80206 303-243-3100 tuthillhughes.com

FAMILY LAW LA W / DIVORCE Jennifer G. Feingold

FEINGOLD HORTON 161 S. Syracuse Way, Suite 260 6

Greenwood Village 80111 303-292-0788 feingoldhorton.com

Jordan Fox

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

Denver 80202 303-299-8208 shermanhoward.com

Suzanne Griffiths

GRIFFITHS LAW 1 0457 Park Meadows Drive

Lone Tree 80124 303-858-8090 griffithslawpc.com

Maha Kamal

COLORADO FAMILY LAW PROJECT 1627 Vine St.

Denver 80206 720-897-5182 coloradofamilylawproject.com

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T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 David A. Lamb

SHERR PUTTMANN AKINS LAMB 7979 E. Tufts Ave., Suite 1650

Denver 80237 303-741-5300 spalfamilylaw.com

Kate Lewis

COOPER RAMP CAGE BUCAR LEWIS 1441 18th St., Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-296-9412 crcbl.com

Halleh Omidi

HOGAN OMIDI 773 Cherry Creek 3

North Drive, Suite 950 Denver 80209 303-691-9600 hoganomidi.com

Jerremy M. Ramp

COOPER RAMP CAGE BUCAR LEWIS 1441 18th St., Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-296-9412 crcbl.com

Megan Sherr

SHERR PUTTMANN AKINS LAMB 7979 E. Tufts Ave., Suite 1650

Denver 80237 303-741-5300 spalfamilylaw.com

Nicoal C. Sperrazza

LAW OFFICE OF NICOAL C. SPERRAZZA 1720 S. Bellaire St., Suite 406

Denver 80222 303-481-6360 denfamilylegal.com

G. Aaron Suazo

SUAZO LAW 609 S. University Blvd., Suite 631691 9

Littleton 80130 720-715-7900 suazolaw.com

Kim Willoughby

WILLOUGHBY & ASSOCIATES 5188 Genesee Trail Road, Suite 150 2

Golden 80401 303-839-1770 willoughbylaw.com

Danaé D. Woody

WOODY LAW FIRM 140 E. 19th Ave., Suite 600

Denver 80203 303-968-1711 woodylawllc.com

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS RELATION S / CONTRACTSS / LOBBYING CONTRACT Jon Anderson

WEST GROUP 501 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 375 6

Denver 80111 303-218-7150 westgrouplp.com

88

5280 / JANUARY 2024

Norman Brownstein

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1100 bhfs.com

Michael Feeley

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1237 bhfs.com

David WM. Foster

FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER 360 S. Garfield St., Suite 600

Denver 80209 303-333-9810 fostergraham.com

Doug Friednash

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1221 bhfs.com

Mark Grueskin

RECHT KORNFELD 1 600 Stout St., Suite 1400

Denver 80202 303-573-1900 rklawpc.com

Melissa Kuipers Blake BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1164 bhfs.com

Sarah Mercer

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1139 bhfs.com

Christopher O. Murray BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1183 bhfs.com

Trey Rogers

RECHT KORNFELD 1 600 Stout St., Suite 1400

Denver 80202 303-573-1900 rklawpc.com

Jep Seman

COLORADO ADVOCATES 3 S. Kalamath St., Suite 200 2

Denver 80223 720-377-0703 coloradoadvocates.com

Martha Tierney

TIERNEY LAWRENCE STILES 25 E. 16th Ave., Suite 350 2

Denver 80203 303-356-4870 tls.legal

HEALTH

Mark R. Barr

Erin M. Eiselein

LICHTER IMMIGRATION 1 601 Vine St.

Denver 80202 303-572-6500 gtlaw.com

Alissa Brodie

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Denver 80206 303-554-8400 lichterimmigration.com

Jennifer L. Evans

FOX ROTHSCHILD 1 225 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

Christina Brown

POLSINELLI 1 401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

Colleen Faddick

POLSINELLI 1 401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

Mark A. Fogg

CHILDS MCCUNE 21 17th St., Suite 500 8

Denver 80202 303-296-7300 childsmccune.com

Peggy Kozal

GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI 555 17th St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-200-6888 grsm.com

Denver 80202 303-446-3846 foxrothschild.com

LAW OFFICE OF CHRISTINA BROWN 517 E. 16th Ave.

Denver 80203 303-747-3494 cbrownlawoffice.com

Courtney Butler

PALMER POLASKI 1 761 N. Emerson St.

Denver 80218 303-736-6650 palmerpolaski.com

Jennifer Casey

KOLKO & CASEY 251 S. Quebec St., Suite 200 5

Greenwood Village 80111 303-371-1822 kolkocasey.com

Catherine A. Chan

Jim Miles

CHAN LAW FIRM 1 737 Gaylord St.

Denver 80202 720-437-2040 foley.com

Conor Gleason

FOLEY & LARDNER 1 400 16th St., Suite 200

Anna-Liisa Mullis

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1165 bhfs.com

Denver 80206 303-586-5555 chanimmigration.com ROCKY MOUNTAIN IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY NETWORK 7301 Federal Blvd., Suite 300

Westminster 80030 303-433-2812 rmian.org

Kathleen M. Glynn

Meghan E. Pound

GROB & EIRICH 1 2596 W. Bayaud Ave., Suite 390

Boulder 80301 303-443-8010 celaw.com

Aaron C. Hall

CAPLAN & EARNEST 107 Iris Ave., Suite 100 3

Lakewood 80228 303-816-8147 grobeirich.com

Jennifer A. Sullivan

JOSEPH & HALL 1 2203 E. Second Ave.

Boulder 80301 303-443-8010 celaw.com

Christine M. Hernández

CAPLAN & EARNEST 107 Iris Ave., Suite 100 3

Aurora 80011 303-297-9171 immigrationissues.com

Emily K. Weber

HERNANDEZ & ASSOCIATES 1 801 York St.

Denver 80202 720-437-2105 foley.com

Jennifer Howard

FOLEY & LARDNER 1 400 16th St., Suite 200

IMMIGRATION Leigh A. Alpert

BATTAN ALPERT HUTCHINGS 440 Arapahoe Ave., Suite 110 4

Boulder 80303 303-444-8668 battanalpert.com

Denver 80206 303-623-1122 hdezlaw.com

JOSEPH & HALL 1 2203 E. Second Ave.

Aurora 80011 303-297-9171 immigrationissues.com

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Jeff Joseph

BERRY, APPLEMAN & LEIDEN 1 900 Wazee St., Suite 303

Denver 80202 303-248-7888 bal.com

Kristin Knudson

KNUDSON & ASSOCIATES 50 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Suite 302 5

Lakewood 80226 303-974-7758 knudsonandassociates.com

Laura Lichter

LICHTER IMMIGRATION 1 601 Vine St.

Denver 80206 303-554-8400 lichterimmigration.com

Laura Lunn

ROCKY MOUNTAIN IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY NETWORK 7301 Federal Blvd., Suite 300

Westminster 80030 303-433-2812 rmian.org

Bernadette “Ginger” McGuire

MCGUIRE LAW 8 Inverness Drive East, Suite 203 5

Englewood 80112 720-802-2705 mcguirelegalsolutions.com

Shawn D. Meade

MYRIGHTS IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM 75 S. Federal Blvd.

Denver 80219 303-495-5121 myrightsimmigration.com

Hans Meyer

MEYER LAW OFFICE 1547 Gaylord St.

Denver 80206 303-831-0817 themeyerlawoffice.com

Maria Monclova

MONCLOVA LAW 1 745 S. Federal Blvd.

Denver 80219 303-974-5049 abogadamonclova.com

INSURANCE Melissa Hailey

HAILEY HART 383 Corona St., Suite 319

Denver 80218 720-400-7970 haileyhartlaw.com

Linda Knight

SPENCER FANE 1700 Lincoln St., Suite 2000

Denver 80203 303-839-3800 spencerfane.com

Bradley A. Levin

LEVIN SITCOFF WANEKA 55 Sherman St., Suite 490 4

Denver 80203 303-575-9390 lsw-legal.com

Christopher R. Mosley

FOLEY HOAG 4643 S. Ulster St., Suite 970

Denver 80237 720-782-5075 foleyhoag.com

Franklin D. Patterson

PATTERSON RIPPLINGER 613 DTC Parkway, Suite 400 5

Greenwood Village 80111 303-741-4539 prpclegal.com

Joe Ramirez

HOLLAND & HART 555 17th St., Suite 3200

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Terence M. Ridley

SPENCER FANE 1700 Lincoln St., Suite 2000

Denver 80203 303-839-3800 spencerfane.com

Michael J. Rosenberg

JORDAN LAW 5 445 DTC Parkway, Suite 1000

Greenwood Village 80111 303-766-8153 jordanlaw.com

Zachary Warzel

KEATING WAGNER POLIDORI FREE 1290 Broadway, Suite 600

Denver 80203 303-534-0401 keatingwagner.com

David S. Werber

DAGNER SCHLUTER WERBER 400 E. Prentice Ave., Suite 1401 8

Greenwood Village 80111 303-221-4661 lawincolorado.com

Jane Young

MCELROY, DEUTSCH, MULVANEY & CARPENTER 7400 E. Orchard Road, Suite 320S

Greenwood Village 80111 303-226-8957 mdmc-law.com

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: LITIGATION

Denver 80202 303-204-5731 hpdlaw.com

Louisville 80027 720-536-4900 neugeborenlaw.com

Boulder 80302 303-473-2700 hollandhart.com

Chirag B. Patel

HOLLAND & HART 1 800 Broadway, Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-629-3434 dorsey.com

Jessica C. Kaiser

HOLZER PATEL DRENNAN 16 16th St., Suite 1350 2

Denver 80202 303-454-2907 perkinscoie.com

Margaret Polson

PERKINS COIE 1 900 16th St., Suite 1400

Kourtney Mueller Merrill Denver 80202 303-291-2388 perkinscoie.com

Denver 80203 303-575-9390 lsw-legal.com

Kirstin L. Stoll-DeBell

Denver 80202 720-274-3135 wilmerhale.com

Evan Stephenson

FAEGRE DRINKER 1 144 15th St., Suite 3400

Denver 80203 303-839-3800 spencerfane.com

Gayle Strong

Denver 80203 303-575-9390 lsw-legal.com

Richard J. Holzer Jr.

DORSEY & WHITNEY 1 400 Wewatta St., Suite 400

Denver 80218 303-736-6650 palmerpolaski.com

LEVIN SITCOFF WANEKA 55 Sherman St., Suite 490 4

Denver 80202 720-274-3135 wilmerhale.com

Tim Getzoff

Jeremy A. Sitcoff

Nelson A. Waneka

WILMERHALE 1 225 17th St., Suite 2600

Lee R. Osman

Koby Polaski

Denver 80221 303-957-0192 reedimmigration.com

Ben Fernandez

Denver 80202 303-863-9700 sheridanross.com

SHERIDAN ROSS 1 560 Broadway, Suite 1200

WILMERHALE 1225 17th St., Suite 2600

SPENCER FANE 1700 Lincoln St., Suite 2000

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

NEUGEBOREN O’DOWD 7 26 Front St., Suite 220

Mindy Sooter

REED IMMIGRATION 325 W. 72nd Ave. 2

POLSINELLI 1 401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

Robert R. Brunelli

Denver 80202 303-623-1800 messner.com

Alyssa Reed

Gregory P. Durbin

Craig A. Neugeboren

Denver 80218 303-736-6650 palmerpolaski.com

LEVIN SITCOFF WANEKA 55 Sherman St., Suite 490 4

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: PATENT

Denver 80202 303-809-9388 sheridanross.com

SHERIDAN ROSS 1 560 Broadway, Suite 1200

PERKINS COIE 1 900 16th St., Suite 1400

PALMER POLASKI 1 761 N. Emerson St.

Denver 80202 303-291-2357 perkinscoie.com

HOLZER PATEL DRENNAN 16 16th St., Suite 1350 2

Heather A. Salg

MESSNER REEVES 1 550 Wewatta St., Suite 710

PERKINS COIE 1 900 16th St., Suite 1400

Aaron Bradford

Camila Palmer

PALMER POLASKI 1 761 N. Emerson St.

Amanda Tessar

Denver 80202 303-927-5212 faegredrinker.com

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Denver 80202 303-572-6574 gtlaw.com

Denver 80202 720-204-5735 hpdlaw.com

POLSON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW 1001 W. 120th Ave., Suite 207

Westminster 80234 303-485-7640 polsoniplaw.com

Karam J. Saab

KILPATRICK TOWNSEND 1 400 Wewatta St., Suite 600

Denver 80202 303-405-1485 kilpatricktownsend.com

David St. John-Larkin

PERKINS COIE 1 900 16th St., Suite 1400

Denver 80202 303-291-2365 perkinscoie.com

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: TRADEMARK Andrea Anderson

HOLLAND & HART 1 800 Broadway, Suite 300

Boulder 80302 303-473-2700 hollandhart.com

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T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Alexander J.A. Garcia

Paul Thompson

Todd Fredrickson

Paula Greisen

Boulder 80302 303-473-2700 hollandhart.com

Denver 80202 303-629-3400 dorsey.com

Denver 80202 303-218-3650 fisherphillips.com

Denver 80220 303-876-7663 greisenmedlock.com

HOLLAND & HART 1800 Broadway, Suite 300

DORSEY & WHITNEY 1 400 Wewatta St., Suite 400

FISHER PHILLIPS 1 125 17th St., Suite 2400

GREISEN MEDLOCK 110 E. Colfax Ave., Suite 4-216 6

Scott Havlick

David B. Wilson

Michelle Gomez

Iris Halpern

Boulder 80302 303-473-2700 hollandhart.com

Denver 80202 303-299-8382 shermanhoward.com

Denver 80202 303-362-2888 littler.com

Denver 80205 303-578-4400 rmlawyers.com

HOLLAND & HART 1800 Broadway, Suite 300

Pamela N. Hirschman

SHERIDAN ROSS 1 560 Broadway, Suite 1200

Denver 80202 303-863-9700 sheridanross.com

Charlene Krogh

DORSEY & WHITNEY 1 400 Wewatta St., Suite 400

Denver 80202 303-352-1174 dorsey.com

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

LITTLER MENDELSON 1 900 16th St., Suite 800

RATHOD MOHAMEDBHAI 701 Lawrence St., Suite 100 2

John Wilson

Laura J. Hazen

Claire Hunter

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Denver 80210 303-749-0649 hklawllc.us

Denver 80202 720-222-3100 hkm.com

HOLLAND & HART 555 17th St., Suite 3200

JUVENILE DEFENSE Nicole Duncan

DUNCAN YOUTH LEGAL SERVICES 130 W. Fifth Ave.

H&K LAW 900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300 3

HKM EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEYS 18 17th St., Suite 1100 5

Susan P. Klopman

Diane King

Denver 80210 303-749-0649 hklawllc.us

Denver 80206 303-479-3997 kingemploymentlaw.com

H&K LAW 900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300 3

KING EMPLOYMENT LAW 1 670 York St.

Kazuyo Morita

Denver 80204 719-581-2309 duncanyouthlaw.com

Meghan W. Martinez

Mary Jo Lowrey

Boulder 80302 303-473-2700 hollandhart.com

Holly Gummerson

Denver 80218 303-593-2595 lowrey-parady.com

Dave Ratner

Arvada 80002 720-328-2862 gummersonnickolaus.com

South Tower, Suite 1020 Denver 80246 303-597-4000 mlgrouppc.com

HOLLAND & HART 1800 Broadway, Suite 300

CREATIVE LAW NETWORK 2701 Lawrence St.

GUMMERSON & NICKOLAUS 400 Ward Road, Building 2, Suite 200-E 5

Denver 80205 720-924-6529 creativelawnetwork.com

Michael Juba

Timothy B. Scull

Denver 80202 303-974-1080 jubalawoffice.com

FAEGRE DRINKER 1144 15th St., Suite 3400

JUBA LAW OFFICE 1 600 N. Broadway, Suite 1040

Denver 80202 303-927-5225 faegredrinker.com

Hannah Seigel Proff

Miriam D. Trudell

Denver 80205 303-628-5581 profflaw.com

Denver 80202 303-863-9700 sheridanross.com

M. Michael Rafik

SHERIDAN ROSS 1 560 Broadway, Suite 1200

PROFF LAW 309 N. Downing St. 3

RAFIK & JACOBSON 7 11 Walnut St.

INTERNATIONAL

Boulder 80302 303-444-9292 rafiklaw.com

Stephen Bain

Jenifer Stinson

WELBORN SULLIVAN MECK & TOOLEY 1401 Lawrence St., Suite 1800

Denver 80202 303-830-2500 wsmtlaw.com

Troy Braegger

DORSEY & WHITNEY 1 400 Wewatta St., Suite 400

Denver 80202 303-629-3453 dorsey.com

Amy Hirter

CASCADE BUSINESS LAW 03-359-4244 3

cascadebizlaw.com

Garth Jensen

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

Denver 80202 303-299-8257 shermanhoward.com

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5280 / JANUARY 2024

STINSON LAW OFFICE 1 245 E. Colfax Ave., Suite 300

MARTINEZ LAW GROUP 7 20 S. Colorado Blvd.,

Jon Olafson

BUCHALTER 1624 Market St., Suite 400

Denver 80202 303-253-6751 buchalter.com

Michele On-ja Choe

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80202 303-244-1926 wtotrial.com

Christine Samsel

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1133 bhfs.com

Danielle Urban

FISHER PHILLIPS 1 125 17th St., Suite 2400

Denver 80218 303-483-3161

Denver 80202 303-218-3650 fisherphillips.com

LABOR/ EMPLOYMENT: DEFENSE

LABOR / EMPLOYMENT: LABOR/ PLAINTIFF

Gillian Bidgood

Felipe Bohnet-Gomez

POLSINELLI 1401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

RATHOD MOHAMEDBHAI 701 Lawrence St., Suite 100 2

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

Denver 80205 303-578-4400 rmlawyers.com

Stacey Campbell

John Culver

Denver 80218 303-536-1833 campbell-litigation.com

Denver 80202 303-716-0254 denveremploymentlawyer.com

CAMPBELL LITIGATION 1 410 N. High St.

BENEZRA & CULVER 1 801 California St., Suite 2400

LOWREY PARADY LEBSACK 1 490 N. Lafayette St., Suite 304

Qusair Mohamedbhai

RATHOD MOHAMEDBHAI 701 Lawrence St., Suite 100 2

Denver 80205 303-578-4400 rmlawyers.com

Jennifer Robinson

ROBINSON & ASSOCIATES 300 S. Parker Road, Suite 300 3

Aurora 80014 303-872-3063

Hunter Swain

SWAIN LAW 1 490 N. Lafayette St., Suite 303

Denver 80218 720-815-5281 swainemploymentlaw.com

Clayton Wire

OGBORN MIHM 1 700 Lincoln St., Suite 2700

Denver 80203 303-592-5900 omtrial.com

Deborah Yim

PRIMERA LAW GROUP 1 240 S. Parker Road, Suite 103

Denver 80231 720-409-0320 primeralaw.com

MARIJUANA Jennifer Benda

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Marshall A. Custer

HUSCH BLACKWELL 1 801 Wewatta St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-749-7200 huschblackwell.com

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Garrett Graff

Andy McNulty

Kevin J. Kuhn

Denver 80216 303-292-2900 moyewhite.com

Denver 80218 720-850-5770 newman-mcnulty.com

Denver 80202 303-244-1841 wtotrial.com

MOYE WHITE 615 Delgany St., Suite 1100 3

Shawn Hauser

VICENTE 455 Sherman St., Suite 390

Denver 80203 303-860-4501 vicentellp.com

Steve N. Levine

HUSCH BLACKWELL 1 801 Wewatta St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-749-7200 huschblackwell.com

Jerrico Perez

VICENTE 455 Sherman St., Suite 390

Denver 80203 303-860-4501 vicentellp.com

Christian Sederberg

VICENTE 455 Sherman St., Suite 390

Denver 80203 303-860-4501 vicentellp.com

Brian Vicente

VICENTE 455 Sherman St., Suite 390

Denver 80203 303-860-4501 vicentellp.com

Yuefan Wang

HUSCH BLACKWELL 1 801 Wewatta St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-749-7200 huschblackwell.com

MEDIA /FIRST AMENDMENT Mike Beylkin

LAW OFFICE OF STEVEN D. ZANSBERG 100 Fillmore St., Suite 500

Denver 80206 303-886-7048 zansberglaw.com

Thomas B. Kelley

KILLMER LANE 1 543 Champa St., Suite 400

Denver 80202 303-571-1000 killmerlane.com

Ashley I. Kissinger

BALLARD SPAHR 1 225 17th St., Unit 2300

Denver 80202 303-376-2407 ballardspahr.com

David Lane

KILLMER LANE 1 543 Champa St., Suite 400

Denver 80202 303-571-1000 killmerlane.com

NEWMAN MCNULTY 1 490 N. Lafayette St., Suite 304

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Jessica Smith

Lisa Leasure

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Drive South, Suite 675 Glendale 80246 720-904-1190 faracileasure.com

HOLLAND & HART 555 17th St., Suite 3200

Steven D. Zansberg

LAW OFFICE OF STEVEN D. ZANSBERG 100 Fillmore St., Suite 500

Denver 80206 303-564-3669 zansberglaw.com

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: DEFENSE Mark B. Collier

MESSNER REEVES 1 550 Wewatta St., Suite 710

Denver 80202 303-623-1800 messner.com

Christine A. Craigmile

HALL BOOTH SMITH 445 DTC Parkway, Suite 900 5

Greenwood Village 80111 303-773-3500 hallboothsmith.com

Paul Faraci

FARACI LEASURE 500 Cherry Creek 4

South Drive, Suite 675 Glendale 80246 720-904-1190 faracileasure.com

Chad K. Gillam

HALL & EVANS 1 001 17th St., Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-628-3300 hallevans.com

Barbara H. Glogiewicz

CAPLAN & EARNEST 3107 Iris Ave., Suite 100

Boulder 80301 303-443-8010 celaw.com

Michelle L. Harden

MESSNER REEVES 1 550 Wewatta St., Suite 710

Denver 80202 303-623-1800 messner.com

Stephen Hensen

JACKSON KELLY 1099 18th St., Suite 2150

Denver 80202 303-390-0010 jacksonkelly.com

Kari Hershey

HERSHEY DECKER DRAKE 1 0463 Park Meadows Drive, Suite 209

Lone Tree 80124 303-226-1680 hersheydecker.com

FARACI LEASURE 500 Cherry Creek 4

Steven A. Michalek

CHILDS MCCUNE 21 17th St., Suite 500 8

Denver 80202 303-296-7300 childsmccune.com

Bruce A. Montoya

MESSNER REEVES 1 550 Wewatta St., Suite 710

Denver 80202 303-623-1800 messner.com

Scott S. Nixon

HALL BOOTH SMITH 445 DTC Parkway, Suite 900 5

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: PLAINTIFF Scott J. Eldredge

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

Hollynd Hoskins

HOLLYND LAW 200 Cherry Creek 3

South Drive, Suite 720 Denver 80209 303-513-8881 hollyndlaw.com

Chris Koupal

PARKER LIPMAN 200 Cherry Creek 3

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-638-9424 parkerlipman.com

Dan Lipman

PARKER LIPMAN 200 Cherry Creek 3

Greenwood Village 80111 303-773-3500 hallboothsmith.com

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-638-9424 parkerlipman.com

Katherine Otto

Kevin S. Mahoney

Denver 80202 303-623-1800 messner.com

South Drive, Suite 950 Denver 80246 303-987-2210 mahoneylaw.com

MESSNER REEVES 1 550 Wewatta St., Suite 710

John M. Palmeri

GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI 555 17th St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-534-5145 grsm.com

Jacqueline Sharuzi

SHARUZI LAW GROUP 55 17th St., Suite 975 5

Denver 80202 303-226-0331 sharuzilaw.com

C. Gregory Tiemeier TIEMEIER & STICH 1 000 E. 16th Ave.

Denver 80218 303-531-0022 tslawpc.com

MAHONEY LAW FIRM 500 Cherry Creek 4

Angela McGraw

PARKER LIPMAN 200 Cherry Creek 3

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-638-9424 parkerlipman.com

Lorraine Parker

PARKER LIPMAN 200 Cherry Creek 3

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-638-9424 parkerlipman.com

David S. Woodruff

WAHLBERG, WOODRUFF, NIMMO & SLOANE 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 950

Traci L. Van Pelt

Denver 80237 303-571-5302 denvertriallawyers.com

Denver 80237 303-480-0400 mvp-legal.com

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

MCCONNELL VAN PELT 700 S. Syracuse St., Suite 200 4

Julie Warren

CHILDS MCCUNE 21 17th St., Suite 500 8

Denver 80202 303-296-7300 childsmccune.com

Adam J. Agron

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1134 bhfs.com

Douglas C. Wolanske

MESSNER REEVES 1 550 Wewatta St., Suite 710

Denver 80202 303-623-1800 messner.com

J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

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T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Damon O. Barry

Timothy R. Franklin

Denver 80202 303-299-7319 ballardspahr.com

Denver 80220 719-895-6979 lowryveteranslaw.com

BALLARD SPAHR 1 225 17th St., Unit 2300

Chuck Cotter

HOLLAND & HART 1800 Broadway, Suite 300

Boulder 80302 303-473-2700 hollandhart.com

LOWRY VETERANS LAW .O. Box 202496 P

Sean Kendall

LAW OFFICES OF SEAN KENDALL 727 Pine St., Suite 6 2

Boulder 80302 303-848-3911 seankendalllaw.net

Nathaniel Ford

Megan J. Kondrachuk

Denver 80202 303-291-2336 perkinscoie.com

Boulder 80302 303-848-3911 seankendalllaw.net

PERKINS COIE 1 900 16th St., Suite 1400

Chris Groll

HOLLAND & HART 555 17th St., Suite 3200

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Darren Hensley

POLSINELLI 1401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

Gino Maurelli

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1115 bhfs.com

Beau Stark

GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER 1 801 California St., Suite 4200

Denver 80202 303-298-5700 gibsondunn.com

Keith Trammell

WILMERHALE 1225 17th St., Suite 2600

Denver 80202 720-274-3135 wilmerhale.com

MILITARY/VETERANS Ryan Coward

AVISO LAW 590 Walnut St. 2

Denver 80205 719-247-3111 avisolawllc.com

Megan Cronin

ROCKY MOUNTAIN VETERANS ADVOCACY PROJECT 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 450

Denver 80231 720-253-0963 rmvap.org

Bradley Cummings

ROCKY MOUNTAIN VETERANS ADVOCACY PROJECT 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 450

Denver 80231 720-253-0963 rmvap.org

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5280 / JANUARY 2024

LAW OFFICES OF SEAN KENDALL 727 Pine St., Suite 6 2

Gregory Rada

AFTER SERVICE P.O. Box 371680 #4545

Denver 80237 800-955-8596 afterservice.com

NATIVE AMERICAN Frances Bassett

PATTERSON EARNHART REAL BIRD & WILSON 1900 Plaza Drive

Louisville 80027 303-926-5292 nativelawgroup.com

Alvina Earnhart

Thomasina Real Bird

Julia Rhine

Louisville 80027 303-926-5292 nativelawgroup.com

Denver 80202 303-223-1279 bhfs.com

PATTERSON EARNHART REAL BIRD & WILSON 1900 Plaza Drive

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Connie Rogers

Connie Rogers

Unit A10, Suite 304 Littleton 80128 303-868-7319 all-terrainlaw.com

Unit A10, Suite 304 Littleton 80128 303-868-7319 all-terrainlaw.com

ALL-TERRAIN LAW 956 W. Remington Place, 9

Robert Thompson III

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Denver 80202 303-685-7448 gtlaw.com

Alice E. Walker

MEYER, WALKER & WALKER 1 007 Pearl St., Suite 220

Boulder 80302 303-442-2021 mmwclaw.com

Jennifer H. Weddle

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Denver 80202 303-572-6565 gtlaw.com

NATURAL RESOURCES

ALL-TERRAIN LAW 956 W. Remington Place, 9

Carlos R. Romo

WILLIAMS WEESE PEPPLE & FERGUSON 1801 California St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-861-2828 williamsweese.com

Kathleen C. Schroder

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-892-7354 dgslaw.com

Amy Seneshen

WELBORN SULLIVAN MECK & TOOLEY 1401 Lawrence St., Suite 1800

Denver 80202 303-830-2500 wsmtlaw.com

Courtney Shephard

PATTERSON EARNHART REAL BIRD & WILSON 1900 Plaza Drive

Scot Anderson

WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON 1 899 Wynkoop St., Suite 715

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-915-3268 womblebonddickinson.com/us

Denver 80202 303-223-1263 bhfs.com

John E. Echohawk

Jamie Jost

Elizabeth Titus

Louisville 80027 303-926-5292 nativelawgroup.com

NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND 250 Arapahoe Ave.

Boulder 80302 303-447-8760 narf.org

Troy A. Eid

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Denver 80202 303-572-6521 gtlaw.com

Melody McCoy

NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND 250 Arapahoe Ave.

Boulder 80302 303-447-8760 narf.org

Padraic I. McCoy

OCOTILLO LAW & POLICY PARTNERS 650 Gunpark Drive, Suite 100 6

Boulder 80301 303-500-7756 olp-partners.com

Jeremy Patterson

PATTERSON EARNHART REAL BIRD & WILSON 1900 Plaza Drive

Louisville 80027 303-926-5292 nativelawgroup.com

JOST ENERGY LAW 511 Ringsby Court, Unit 103 3

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80216 720-446-5620 jostenergylaw.com

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Lamont C. Larsen

Ezekiel “Zeke” J. Williams

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-892-7473 dgslaw.com

Mark Mathews

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1179 bhfs.com

Sam Niebrugge

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-892-7433 dgslaw.com

Dale Ratliff

WILLIAMS WEESE PEPPLE & FERGUSON 1801 California St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-861-2828 williamsweese.com

WILLIAMS WEESE PEPPLE & FERGUSON 1 801 California St., Suite 3400

Denver 80202 303-861-2828 williamsweese.com

PERSONAL INJURY: DEFENSE Charles Casteel

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-892-7345 dgslaw.com

Clarissa Collier

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80202 303-244-0155 wtotrial.com

Jordan Lipp

CHILDS MCCUNE 21 17th St., Suite 500 8

Denver 80202 303-296-7300 childsmccune.com

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Lee Mickus

Amanda Francis Owen

Deirdre Ostrowski

Denver 80210 303-656-2199 efsmmlaw.com

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 303-228-1010 francisowen.law

Denver 80203 303-534-0401 keatingwagner.com

Michael L. O’Donnell Denver 80202 303-244-1800 wtotrial.com

EVANS FEARS SCHUTTERT MCNULTY MICKUS 3900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 1300

FRANCIS OWEN 3200 Cherry Creek

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Gary L. Palumbo

BAYER & CAREY 1 660 N. Downing St.

Denver 80218 303-830-8911 bayerlaw.com

Franklin D. Patterson

PATTERSON RIPPLINGER 613 DTC Parkway, Suite 400 5

Greenwood Village 80111 303-741-4539 prpclegal.com

Mary A. Wells

WELLS, ANDERSON & RACE 1 700 Broadway, Suite 900

Denver 80290 303-812-1243 warllc.com

PERSONAL INJURY: PLAINTIFF Alana M. Anzalone

ANZALONE LAW OFFICES 727 Bryant St., Suite 102 2

Denver 80211 877-256-6933 anzalonelawcolorado.com

Jerry Bowman

BOWMAN LAW 727 Bryant St., Suite 102 2

Denver 80211 720-863-6904 coloradopersonalinjuryhelp.com

Natalie Brown

FRANKLIN D. AZAR & ASSOCIATES 14426 E. Evans Ave.

Aurora 80014 855-417-0342 fdazar.com

Jennifer Donaldson

DONALDSON LAW 3200 Cherry Creek

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 303-458-5000 donaldsonlaw.com

Kari Jones Dulin

KANE DULIN MCQUINN YOUNG 949 S. Syracuse St., Suite 400 4

Denver 80237 303-246-1111 trialproven.com

Danny Foster

FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER 360 S. Garfield St., Suite 600

Denver 80209 303-333-9810 fostergraham.com

Marcie McMinimee

KEATING WAGNER POLIDORI FREE 1290 Broadway, Suite 600

SCHWARTZ, MCMINIMEE & ANDREW 582 S. Ulster St., Suite 720 4

Marc Harden

Lorraine Parker

Jody Pilmer

Denver 80202 303-563-5354 zanerhardenlaw.com

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-638-9424 parkerlipman.com

Greenwood Village 80111 303-322-8943 wadeash.com

ZANER HARDEN LAW 1 610 Wynkoop St., Suite 120

Mike Keating

PARKER LIPMAN 200 Cherry Creek 3

KEATING WAGNER POLIDORI FREE 1290 Broadway, Suite 600

Paula Slaughter

Chris Koupal

Lauren Varner

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-638-9424 parkerlipman.com

Centennial 80111 720-770-8335 varnerfaddis.com

Denver 80203 303-534-0401 keatingwagner.com

PARKER LIPMAN 3200 Cherry Creek

DezaRae LaCrue

FRANKLIN D. AZAR & ASSOCIATES 14426 E. Evans Ave.

Aurora 80014 303-757-3300 fdazar.com

Dan Lipman

PARKER LIPMAN 3200 Cherry Creek

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-638-9424 parkerlipman.com

Sommer D. Luther

WAGSTAFF LAW FIRM 40 N. Lincoln Ave. 9

Denver 80203 303-376-6360 wagstafflawfirm.com

Tara Mager

MAGER LAW GROUP 1 290 Broadway, Unit 600

Denver 80203 303-569-4200 magerlaw.com

Anna Martinez

MARTINEZ LAW COLORADO 373 Central Park Blvd., 2

Suite 100 Denver 80238 303-529-3711 martinezlawcolorado.com

Jennifer O’Connell

QUEENER LAW 3200 Cherry Creek

South Drive, Suite 520 Denver 80209 720-696-9088 queenerlaw.com

Trenton Ongert

BLOCH & CHAPLEAU, CATES, ONGERT 1725 Gaylord St.

Denver 80206 303-331-1700 blochchapleau.com

WILHITE LAW FIRM 1 600 N. Ogden St.

Denver 80218 303-839-1650 wilhitelawfirm.com

VARNER FADDIS ELITE LEGAL 025 S. Quebec St., Suite 100 6

Stephen W. Wahlberg

WAHLBERG, WOODRUFF, NIMMO & SLOANE 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 950

Denver 80237 303-571-5302 denvertriallawyers.com

Kurt Zaner

ZANER HARDEN LAW 1 610 Wynkoop St., Suite 120

Denver 80202 303-563-5354 zanerhardenlaw.com

Ross Ziev

LEGAL HELP IN COLORADO 480 E. Orchard Road, Suite 2400 8

Greenwood Village 80111 303-351-2567 helpincolorado.com

PROBATE LITIGATION Marco Chayet

CHAYET & DANZO 50 S. Cherry St., Suite 710 6

Denver 80246 303-355-8500 coloradoelderlaw.com

Todd E. Kastetter

TODD E. KASTETTER 500 Cherry Creek 4

South Drive, Suite 625 Denver 80246 303-567-7905 probatetrials.com

Keith Lapuyade

EVANS CASE 1 660 S. Albion St., Suite 1100

Denver 80222 303-757-8300 evanscase.com

Letitia M. Maxfield

WADE ASH 251 DTC Parkway, Suite 825 5

Greenwood Village 80111 303-322-8943 wadeash.com

Denver 80237 303-534-5100 estatelawco.com

WADE ASH 251 DTC Parkway, Suite 825 5

Tom Rodriguez

LATHROP GPM 75 15th St., Suite 2650 6

Denver 80202 720-931-3231 lathropgpm.com

Herbert E. Tucker IV

WADE ASH 251 DTC Parkway, Suite 825 5

Greenwood Village 80111 303-322-8943 wadeash.com

Morgan M. Wiener

MMW LAW 1 040 S. Gaylord St., Unit 42

Denver 80209 303-909-6612 mmwlaw.legal

Alison Zinn

LATHROP GPM 75 15th St., Suite 2650 6

Denver 80202 720-931-3200 lathropgpm.com

REAL ESTATE Nicole Ament

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1174 bhfs.com

Amy Brimah

BRIMAH LAW 900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300 3

Denver 80210 303-985-8500 brimahlaw.com

Robert Graham

FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER 360 S. Garfield St., Suite 600

Denver 80209 303-333-9810 fostergraham.com

Amy Kiefer Hansen

POLSINELLI 1 401 Lawrence St., Suite 2300

Denver 80202 303-572-9300 polsinelli.com

Aaron M. Hyatt

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1107 bhfs.com

J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

93

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Bruce James

Tal Diamant

Denver 80202 303-223-1167 bhfs.com

Denver 80202 303-223-1235 bhfs.com

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Jay Kamlet

KAMLET 3900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300

Denver 80210 303-332-1985 kamletlaw.com

Rob Kaufmann

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1176 bhfs.com

Blair Lichtenfels

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1190 bhfs.com

Tom List

MOYE WHITE 615 Delgany St., Suite 1100 3

Denver 80216 303-292-2900 moyewhite.com

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

April L. Jones

COLORADO AFFORDABLE LEGAL SERVICES 1410 Grant St., B105

Denver 80203 303-996-0010 coloradoaffordablelegal.com

Reagan Larkin

MESSNER REEVES 1 550 Wewatta St., Suite 710

Denver 80202 303-623-1800 messner.com

Pat Mellen

PAT MELLEN LAW 900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300 3

Denver 80210 720-593-3593 patmellenlaw.com

Michael G. Milstein

FOSTER GRAHAM MILSTEIN & CALISHER 360 S. Garfield St., Suite 600

Denver 80209 303-333-9810 fostergraham.com

Eric L. Nesbitt

Eric L. Nesbitt

Englewood 80112 303-741-2354 nesbittlawoffices.com

Englewood 80112 303-741-2354 nesbittlawoffices.com

LAW OFFICES OF ERIC L. NESBITT 8 Inverness Circle East, C104 8

LAW OFFICES OF ERIC L. NESBITT 8 Inverness Circle East, C104 8

Neil Oberfeld

Neil Oberfeld

Denver 80202 303-685-7414 gtlaw.com

Denver 80202 303-685-7414 gtlaw.com

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Cory Rutz

OTTEN JOHNSON ROBINSON NEFF & RAGONETTI 950 17th St., Suite 1600

Denver 80202 303-575-7531 ottenjohnson.com

Carolynne White

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1197 bhfs.com

REAL ESTATE: LANDLORD// TENANT LANDLORD Kristi Bunge

SPRINGMAN, BRADEN, WILSON, & PONTIUS 4175 Harlan St., Suite 200

Wheat Ridge 80033 303-685-4633 sbwp-law.com

94

5280 / JANUARY 2024

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Carolin Topelson

CAROLIN TOPELSON LAW 900 E. Mexico Ave., Suite 300 3

Denver 80210 720-305-9903 topelsonlaw.com

SECURITIES Reid Godbolt

JONES & KELLER 1675 Broadway, 26th Floor

Denver 80202 303-573-1600 joneskeller.com

Brian Hoffman

HOLLAND & HART 555 17th St., Suite 3200

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Garth Jensen

SHERMAN & HOWARD 75 15th St., Suite 2300 6

Denver 80202 303-299-8257 shermanhoward.com

Kristin L. Lentz

Laurence E. Nemirow

Denver 80202 303-892-7334 dgslaw.com

Denver 80202 303-892-7443 dgslaw.com

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Monica K. Loseman

GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER 1 801 California St., Suite 4200

Denver 80202 303-298-5700 gibsondunn.com

Valeri Pappas

DAVIS & CERIANI 1 600 Stout St., Suite 1710

Denver 80202 303-534-9000 davisandceriani.com

Lucas Ritchie

WHEELER TRIGG O’DONNELL 70 17th St., Suite 4500 3

Denver 80202 303-244-1800 wtotrial.com

Zaki Robbins

MOYE WHITE 1 400 16th St., Sixth Floor

Denver 80202 303-292-2900 moyewhite.com

Lucy Stark

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Robyn Zolman

GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER 1 801 California St., Suite 4200

Denver 80202 303-298-5740 gibsondunn.com

TAX: CORPORATE Douglas J. Becker

BECKER 730 17th St., Suite 695

Denver 80202 303-638-6778 becker-pc.com

Gregory Berger

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1158 bhfs.com

Adam M. Cohen

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Chris Levkulich

MOYE WHITE 615 Delgany St., Suite 1100 3

Denver 80216 303-292-2900 moyewhite.com

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

J. Tenley Oldak

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 410 17th St., Suite 2200

Denver 80202 303-223-1159 bhfs.com

Peter Perla

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

Neil I. Pomerantz

SILVERSTEIN & POMERANTZ 1 00 Fillmore St., Suite 435

Denver 80206 303-991-2501 sptaxlaw.com

Michael Snider

DAVIS GRAHAM & STUBBS 1 550 17th St., Suite 500

Denver 80202 303-892-7399 dgslaw.com

James Walker

LEWIS ROCA 1 601 19th St., Suite 1000

Denver 80202 303-623-9000 lewisroca.com

John Wilson

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80202 303-295-8000 hollandhart.com

TAX: PERSONAL Douglas J. Becker

BECKER 7 30 17th St., Suite 695

Denver 80202 303-638-6778 becker-pc.com

Fred J. Diss

ROBINSON, DISS AND CLOWDUS 3200 Cherry Creek

South Drive, Suite 340 Denver 80209 303-861-4154 lektax.com

Brian Huebsch

ANDERSON & JAHDE 800 S. Nevada St. 5

Littleton 80120 303-782-0003 andersonjahde.com

Tamara Kotzker

HOLLAND & HART 55 17th St., Suite 3200 5

Denver 80202 303-295-8265 hollandhart.com

T O P L AW Y E R S 2 02 4 Justin L. Mills

Carolyn Burr

Suite 340 Denver 80209 303-861-4154 lektax.com

Denver 80202 303-830-2500 wsmtlaw.com

ROBINSON, DISS AND CLOWDUS 3200 Cherry Creek South Drive,

TRANSPORTATION Jonathan M. Abramson

KISSINGER & FELLMAN 773 Cherry Creek North 3

WELBORN SULLIVAN MECK & TOOLEY 1401 Lawrence St., Suite 1800

Bradley C. Grasmick

LAWRENCE CUSTER GRASMICK JONES & DONOVAN 5245 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Suite 1

Johnstown 80534 970-622-8181 lcwaterlaw.com

Drive, Suite 900 Denver 80209 303-320-6100 kandf.com

Dulcinea Hanuschak

Daniel J. Bristol

Denver 80202 303-223-1184 bhfs.com

HALL & EVANS 1 001 17th St., Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-628-3300 hallevans.com

Brooke A. Churchman HALL & EVANS 1 001 17th St., Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-628-3300 hallevans.com

Lance G. Eberhart

HALL & EVANS 1 001 17th St., Suite 300

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Kent Holsinger

HOLSINGER LAW 1800 Glenarm Place,

Suite 500 Denver 80202 303-722-2828 holsingerlaw.com

Lee H. Johnson

CARLSON, HAMMOND & PADDOCK 1900 N. Grant St.,

Denver 80202 303-628-3300 hallevans.com

Suite 1200 Denver 80203 303-861-9000 chp-law.com

Shannon Smith Johnson

Sarah A. Klahn

ICENOGLE SEAVER POGUE 4 725 S. Monaco St., Suite 360

Denver 80237 303-867-3012 isp-law.com

Seth Rider

MORGAN RIDER RITER TSAI 1 512 Larimer St., Suite 450

Denver 80202 303-623-1832 morganrider.com

Tamara Seaver

ICENOGLE SEAVER POGUE

4 725 S. Monaco St., Suite 360 Denver 80237 303-867-3004 isp-law.com

Paul T. Yarbrough

HALL & EVANS 1 001 17th St., Suite 300

Denver 80202 303-628-3300 hallevans.com

WATER David F. Bower

JOHNSON & REPUCCI

8 50 W. South Boulder Road, Suite 100 Louisville 80027 303-546-5608 j-rlaw.com

SOMACH SIMMONS & DUNN 1155 Canyon Blvd., Suite 110

Boulder 80302 303-449-2834 somachlaw.com

Ramsey L. Kropf

SOMACH SIMMONS & DUNN 1 155 Canyon Blvd., Suite 110

Boulder 80302 303-449-2834 somachlaw.com

Stephen Leonhardt

BURNS, FIGA & WILL 400 S. Fiddlers Green Circle, 6

Suite 1000 Greenwood Village 80111 303-796-2626 bfwlaw.com

Peggy E. Montaño

TROUT RALEY MONTAÑO FREEMAN SINOR THOMPSON 1120 N. Lincoln St., Suite 1600

Denver 80203 303-861-1963 troutlaw.com

Kristin H. Moseley

SOMACH SIMMONS & DUNN 1155 Canyon Blvd.,

Suite 110 Boulder 80302 303-449-2834 somachlaw.com

Brian Nazarenus

NAZARENUS STACK & WOMBACHER 299 DTC Blvd., Suite 610 5

Greenwood Village 80111 720-506-9620 nswlaw.com

Bennett W. Raley

Stephan J. Marsh

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

TROUT RALEY MONTAÑO FREEMAN SINOR THOMPSON 1120 N. Lincoln St., Suite 1600

Britton Morrell

Steven O. Sims

Matt O’Brien

Denver 80203 303-861-1963 troutlaw.com

BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK 675 15th St., Suite 2900

Denver 80202 303-223-1149 bhfs.com

Sheela Stack

NAZARENUS STACK & WOMBACHER 5299 DTC Blvd., Suite 610

Greenwood Village 80111 720-506-9605 nswlaw.com

Chris Thorne

GREENBERG TRAURIG 1 144 15th St., Suite 3300

Denver 80202 303-572-6519 gtlaw.com

Madoline Wallace-Gross

LYONS GADDIS 15 Kimbark St., Second Floor 5

Longmont 80501 720-726-3673 lyonsgaddis.com

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: CLAIMANT Erika Alverson

ALVERSON & O’BRIEN 1 888 Sherman St., Suite 403

Denver 80203 720-574-1001 alversonobrien.com

Travis Barbarick

KAPLAN MORRELL 373 Central Park Blvd., Suite 100 2

Denver 80238 303-780-7329 kaplanmorrell.com

ALVERSON & O’BRIEN 1 888 Sherman St., Suite 403

Denver 80203 720-649-5568 alversonobrien.com

John Sbarbaro

LAW OFFICE OF O’TOOLE & SBARBARO 226 W. 12th Ave.

Denver 80204 303-595-4777 otoole-sbarbaro.com

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: RESPONDENT Kristin Caruso

RITSEMA LAW 99 18th St., Suite 1800 9

Denver 80202 303-297-7290 ritsemalaw.com

Marsha Kitch KITCH LAW .O. Box 1604 P

Evergreen 80437 303-670-3923 kitchlaw.com

Paul Krueger

RITSEMA LAW 99 18th St., Suite 1800 9

Denver 80202 303-293-0097 ritsemalaw.com

Katherine Mackey

BABCOCK LAW FIRM 600 S. Ulster St., Suite 800 4

RUEGSEGGER SIMONS & STERN 1 700 Lincoln St., Suite 4500

Mark Elliott

Mimi Metzger

Arvada 80002 303-424-5319 elliottlawoffices.com

Denver 80202 303-297-7276 ritsemalaw.com

Denver 80237 303-683-5033 injurylawcolorado.com

ELLIOTT LAW OFFICES 7 884 Ralston Road

Nick D. Fogel

BURG SIMPSON ELDREDGE HERSH JARDINE 40 Inverness Drive East

Englewood 80112 303-792-5595 burgsimpson.com

Denver 80203 303-575-8017 rs3legal.com

RITSEMA LAW 99 18th St., Suite 1800 9

Eric Pollart

POLLART MILLER 700 S. Quebec St., Suite 200 5

Greenwood Village 80111 720-488-9586 pollartmiller.com m

Larry Free

KEATING WAGNER POLIDORI FREE 1290 Broadway, Suite 600

Denver 80203 303-534-0401 keatingwagner.com

J A N UA R Y 2024 / 5280

95

AC T L I K E A L O CA L

THE OVERSIMPLIFIED GUIDE TO:

Judging Cattle

Don’t just cosplay as a cowboy or cowgirl at this year’s National Western Stock Show (January 6 through 21). Kyndal Reitzenstein, a longtime livestock judge and rancher from Kersey, teaches us how to spot a prize-winning steer. — J AY B O U C H A R D

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Look at the steer, a neutered male raised for its beef, from behind. A broad top— just like a muscular back or torso on a human—indicates it’s got the muscle, also known as meatiness, for plenty of steaks.

If the lower chest— aka the brisket—is overly large and sagging, that could mean the animal has too much fat for good eating.

Feel the steer’s ribs and shoulder blades.

There should be about a centimeter of fat on both. If you only notice hide and bone, the animal is too thin.

Take in the whole steer from the side, then imagine it divided into thirds: front, middle, and rear. Is one section chunkier than the others? Is one particularly lean? Each third should flow smoothly into the next, a characteristic called balance.

Finally, watch it walk.

Cattle with good structure shouldn’t have any defects that restrict movement, such as feet that point in or out. Their legs should be straight, not bowed, and their backs should be long and flat.

A graceful steer is a tasty steer.

5280 / JANUARY 2024

ILLUSTRATION BY SIMONE MASSONI

M AR K Y O U R CAL EN D A R S !

MA RC H 2 3 , 2024

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